Former boxer and current promoter Oscar De La Hoya wrote an opinion editorial in the Las Vegas Review-Journal opposing the Muhammad Ali Boxing Revival Act which is being backed by TKO and specifically Zuffa Boxing.
De La Hoya had targeted Dana White about the attempts to amend the Ali Act and the alleged “fight-fixing” issue in a social media post. This op-ed did not lodge any personal attack but made pointed arguments on how the proposed legislation would hurt fighters.
The Ali Act of 2000 was one of the few federal laws ever passed to protect athletes rather than corporations. It barred promoters from acting as managers, required disclosure of finances and empowered state commissions to act as independent referees for fairness and safety. The new legislation would gut that framework. Fighters would lose bargaining freedom, independent sanctioning bodies would be marginalized and the open marketplace that keeps the sport honest would collapse into monopoly.
De La Hoya refers to the Universal Boxing Organization (UBO) which Zuffa Boxing would like to create. The UBO would create an alternative to the current landscape in boxing. In it, the UBO would be able to act as promoter and matchmaker. What many fighters who oppose the act argue is that this would lead to coercive contracts and eliminate any bargaining leverage that a fighter may have. Most fighters point to the UFC antitrust lawsuits as examples of what happens under a UBO-like scheme as the UFC business practices.
De La Hoya also argues that the proposed legislation is contrary to what Muhammad Ali stood for.
“Muhammad Ali fought for autonomy, dignity and the right to control his own career. To attach his name to a bill that would concentrate power in corporate hands is a moral inversion of everything he stood for.”
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The article also calls for the UFC to be investigated by the State of Nevada based on the questions of fight fixing. He also called for there to be hearings on the Ali Act prior to a vote on the bill. It is interesting that this was put out in the Las Vegas Review Journal which also reports on the UFC. White takes these things personal and you can predict a response by White or someone with TKO to respond to De La Hoya’s opinion piece. Despite the fact that the California State Athletic Commission has pledged it support to the new law, it does not mean that it will pass.
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