Dana White and Zuffa Boxing’s plans to change the longstanding Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act were met with resounding backlash from the boxing community. While it might seem inevitable, boxing legend-turned-promoter Oscar De La Hoya believes there might still be a chance to stop it from passing.
In a conversation with Ariel Helwani on his show, De La Hoya revealed that there is still a chance the Ali Revival Act will not pass the Senate.
“The Ali Revival Act entering into law doesn’t seem inevitable. It still has to pass through the Senate. I’ve had various conversations with members of the Senate, and they’ve invited me to Washington in a few weeks to speak, and I’m going to be there. What’s mind-boggling to me is that nobody’s reporting on it nobody’s talking about it,” he said.
While one could refrain from calling them sneaky, Zuffa Boxing’s push for changes to the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act could certainly be called questionable. It limits promoters from also acting as managers, which makes it hard to run a centralized, UFC-style league in boxing.
Moreover, their vision involves more control over fighters, matchmaking and long-term contracts under one promotional umbrella. Being a former boxer himself. De La Hoya has strongly opposed weakening the Ali Act, arguing it protects fighters from exploitation by preventing conflicts of interest and ensuring transparency in pay and rankings.
However, according to De La Hoya, it looks like he is fighting this battle on his own.
“It feels like I’m fighting this fight alone, which is pretty odd. But that’s what TKO is, that’s what Zuffa is, that’s what Dana is, they’re always sneaky. They had a hearing yesterday or a couple of days ago, where they passed it. It was all sneaky, it was all under the radar nobody knew about it,” he said. “Hopefully, with me showing up, with me being prepared, talking to the Senate, hopefully convincing them and hopefully it gets derailed.”
“In The Trash Can”
The involvement of Zuffa Boxing and the broader push toward a more centralized model has raised concerns about the independence of The Ring rankings. De La Hoya also believes that over the years, Ring has lost the integrity that it once prided itself on.
“I really think the Ring rankings have gone out the window. I don’t think there’s any integrity there whatsoever. The Ring Magazine was everything for 100 years,” he said during the same interview. “And now it might as well be in the trash can. It means nothing.”
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