Muhammad Ali's grandson and Oscar De La Hoya condemn controversial Ali Act reforms in U.S. Senate hearing

"Boxing has never been perfect but one of its strengths has always been competition. Multiple promoters competing for fighters creates leverage and fair market value. When that competition is consolidated to one system, that leverage disappears."

UFC fighters are generally believed to make around 20% or less of the revenue generated by the events in which they fight on, while in boxing, atheltes often command the vast majority of the finances.

Fighters in the UFC and Zuffa Boxing are also required to wear plain company-branded shorts, which removes the possibility of fighters earning sponsorship money and takes away from their individuality. Walsh argued that fighters' freedom to bring sponsors and to express themselves through their fight outfit creates more income streams for them outside of the ring.

(L-R) Oscar De La Hoya; Timothy Shipman, President of the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports; professional boxer Nico Ali Walsh; and Nick Khan testify during Wednesday's Senate committee hearing.

(SAUL LOEB via Getty Images)

Khan claimed the new bill will ultimately leave boxers with more choice because those who are unhappy with the UBO model are welcome to continue with the current system.

Walsh warned that while the UBO model is being presented as an option, “choice becomes theoretical, not real” when one entity controls access to opportunities, adding that fighters may not feel the impact immediately but could lose meaningful choice “five years down the line.”

The current Ali Act requires financial transparency, allowing main-event fighters to access key revenue figures from the events they headline — including the value of media rights deals — helping them negotiate fair purses. Critics argue UBO structures would reduce those disclosures, potentially limiting fighters’ leverage in negotiations.

De La Hoya warned that the creation of rival systems could divide the sport and make cross-promotional fights more difficult to make. Fighters with UBOs would not be able to take fights outside of that UBO.

In the current boxing model, fighters with different promoters can and do fight each other.

"[By] creating the UBO, it’s segregation, basically,” De La Hoya said. “[Some] fighters are going to want to stay in the current system and [other] fighters are going to want to fight for TKO or for Zuffa. Therefore, we will not see the very best fighting the very best.”

Walsh concluded by saying that if the bill passed, it should not have Muhammad Ali's name on it because it represented everything the legendary champion stood against.

"If this bill is passed in its current form, ⁠it should not have my grandfather's name on it, as it would betray the principles his Act was created to protect,” Walsh said.