Grandson of Muhammad Ali forms alliance to preserve existing Ali Act amid TKO-backed efforts to amend key legislation

TKO and Zuffa Boxing have a lot of interests.

(Ed Mulholland/TKO Worldwide LLC via Getty Images)

The Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act is facing yet another surge of resistance.

Nico Ali Walsh, the grandson of the legendary Muhammad Ali, announced Thursday he has formed an alliance alongside 30 key members and organizations in professional boxing to preserve the current Muhammad Ali American Boxing Reform Act.

The Ali Act Preservation Alliance's formation arrives amid the success of TKO-backed efforts to amend the Ali Reform Act and form an Ali Revival Act. Such attempts advanced significantly last month after the bill was passed by the United States House of Representatives. The legislation will now be introduced in Senate, where it will need a simple majority to pass before it lands on the desk of President Donald Trump, who can sign it into law.

The Ali Act Preservation Alliance argues what many in boxing fear: The Ali Revival Act risks monopolization of the sport because it removes the separation between promoters and sanctioning bodies.

The Ali Revival Act would allow for Zuffa Boxing to create a Unified Boxing Organization (UBO), which could run like another TKO entity, namely the UFC, staging events, awarding titles and organizing a rankings system.

It is argued by the alliance that TKO owning control over boxing would be against fighters' interests. Athletes in boxing command up to 80% of the total revenue for their fights, while in MMA, less than 20% of revenue is shared by the fighters.

Zuffa Boxing also recognizes fewer than half of the weight classes that are used in professional boxing, which, as the alliance argues, means fighters may have to cut more weight than is medically safe.

“As an Ali, I’m completely against altering the Muhammad Ali Act," Ali Walsh said. "My grandfather fought for it to protect fighters from getting screwed over. Remove it, and promoters take control while fighters get paid less. Keep the act and protect the fighters who put their lives on the line.”

In recent years, the UFC has faced multiple antitrust lawsuits, which argue the company has engaged in anticompetitive practices for a number of years, and key boxing stakeholders fear the same could happen in their sport.

The Ali Reform Act prohibits coercive contracts, prevents conflicts of interest and requires financial disclosure. Promoters must disclose the total revenue of the event to headliners and select other fighters on the card. The current act also prevents a promoter from operating as a manager and vice-versa, among other fighter protections.