Federal Regulation of Boxing: Current Law and Proposed Legislation (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
July 20, 2005 |
| Report Number |
RL32280 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Nathan Brooks, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
For almost all of the twentieth century, the states exercised complete regulatory control over the
sport of boxing. Beginning in 1960, some members of Congress began to investigate a possible
federal regulatory role. It was not until the passage of the Professional Boxing Safety Act (PBSA)
of 1996, however, that the federal government carved out a place for itself within boxing's
regulatory
framework. Four years later, Congress passed the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000,
which, together with the PBSA forms the federal regulatory structure of boxing. This structure
contains no national regulatory body, but rather consists mainly of minimum requirements with
which the states must comply. Amidst concerns that the federally-mandated minimum requirements
are being largely ignored, there is currently a movement to establish a national regulatory body for
boxing. In the 109th Congress, Senator McCain has introduced S. 148 , the Professional
Boxing Amendment Act of 2005, which was passed by the Senate on May 9. Representative King
has introduced his own very similar bill ( H.R. 468 ) in the House, as has Representative
Stearns ( H.R. 1065 ). This report summarizes the current federal regulatory framework
and the bills before the 109th Congress.
