Senators Ted Cruz, Jacky Rosen introduce Muhammad Ali Boxing Revival Act to Senate with new provisions from House version

Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) introduced the Muhammad Ali Boxing Revival Act to the Senate on Thursday in a bipartisan effort aimed at modernizing professional boxing by adopting UFC-style promotion models.

The bill seeks to establish United Boxing Organizations (UBOs)—entities similar to major MMA promotions—that would be permitted to sign fighters to exclusive contracts, establish promotional rankings and titles, and manage bouts. A House version of the legislation passed in March, but the Senate iteration includes several new provisions that the two chambers must reconcile before a final vote can occur. Both versions must be aligned by January, or the process restarts with a new Congress following November's elections.

Key provisions in the Senate version include establishing a national per-round minimum payment for boxers and strengthening drug-testing protocols. The Senate bill also allows fighters' first UBO contracts to last up to three years (versus an unspecified House limit), with subsequent deals running up to six years. Crucially, it permits boxers to negotiate new agreements up to 90 days before contract expiration—a significant improvement over the House's 30-day window. The Senate version also permits UBOs to recognize titles from other sanctioning bodies, a feature absent from the House bill.

Cruz framed the legislation as necessary to revitalize boxing's marquee matchups, which he argues are currently blocked by the sport's fragmented structure. "This bipartisan legislation will revive marquee matchups, strengthen protections for fighters, and make boxing great again," he said.

However, Nico Ali Walsh—grandson of the legendary Muhammad Ali, after whom the original Ali Act was named—testified against the bill in April, arguing it would undermine the separation of promotion, management, and matchmaking designed to prevent conflicts of interest and fighter exploitation. Despite Walsh's opposition, Rosen's team met with him before introducing the Senate version. If passed, Trump would have 180 days to sign the measure into law.