What Is the Ali Revival Act? Dana White, Zuffa Boxing and the Ali Act Debate

Updated May 2026

The Ali Revival Act is a proposed US federal law. Its formal name is the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, or H.R. 4624.

The bill would allow a new type of body, called a Unified Boxing Organization, to promote fights, rank fighters and award titles inside one private organisation. It passed the US House of Representatives on 24 March 2026. It now sits with the Senate.

If the bill becomes law, it would give Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing the legal framework to operate more like the UFC operates in MMA. That is why much of established boxing is fighting it.

What Is the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act?

The Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act is often shortened to the Ali Revival Act or MAABRA. Republican Brian Jack and Democrat Sharice Davids introduced it in July 2025.

Importantly, it does not repeal the existing Ali Act. Instead, it amends it by adding a parallel system on top of the current one.

That parallel system is the Unified Boxing Organization, or UBO. Fighters would have a choice. They could stay inside the traditional structure, where the promoter and sanctioning body sit on different sides. Or they could sign with a UBO that handles every part of their career under one roof.

The House Education and Workforce Committee approved the bill 30-4 in January 2026. The full House then passed it by voice vote on 24 March 2026.

Senator Ted Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, has said he plans to introduce a Senate version. If the Senate passes the same version and President Trump signs it, the Ali Revival Act becomes federal law.

What Does the Original Ali Act Actually Do?

To understand why this bill matters, you need to understand what the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000 was built to stop.

The original Ali Act was a response to decades of fighter exploitation. It created three major firewalls.

First, a promoter cannot also be the fighter’s manager. That matters because selling the fight and getting the fighter the best deal are two different jobs.

Second, sanctioning bodies such as the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO must rank fighters using public criteria. They must also disclose payments they receive. This helps keep them separate from promoters.

Third, promoters must tell the fighter how much money the event made, what they were paid and what was deducted. In addition, exclusive promotional contracts are capped at 12 months when used as a condition for a title fight.

This separation is one reason critics argue that boxing gives elite fighters more leverage than the UFC-style model in MMA. Fighter pay has been a long-running criticism of the UFC model.

Evander Holyfield has cited an 80/20 contrast in his opposition to the bill. However, that figure should be treated as a criticism from opponents rather than a universal financial rule.

What Is a Unified Boxing Organization?

The UBO is the most important concept in this bill.

It is a privately owned body that would be allowed to do three jobs at once. It could promote fights, rank fighters and award titles.

In practice, that means one organisation could own the rankings. It could also decide who gets a title shot, run contract negotiations, set the purse and pay the fighter.

That creates the central concern. The same organisation that profits from paying less would also write the cheque.

However, the bill does include some real protections. These apply to every professional fight in the US, whether it involves a UBO or not.

Those protections include a minimum payment of $200 per round, at least $50,000 in medical insurance and $15,000 in accidental death coverage. The bill also includes tighter physician certification rules and a mandatory ringside doctor.

Even so, critics say the key fighter-side protections from the original Ali Act do not transfer cleanly to UBO fighters. These include coercive contract bans, financial disclosure requirements and the manager-promoter firewall.

Pat English, the attorney who helped draft the original 1996 and 2000 legislation, told Congress in written testimony that the bill is “a betrayal” of the existing act. His concern is that UBO fighters would lose major protections.

How Are Dana White and Zuffa Boxing Involved?

Zuffa Boxing is a TKO Group company. TKO owns the UFC and WWE.

Zuffa Boxing launched in 2025 in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Dana White runs the boxing project.

The company has been linked to plans for a more centralised boxing model. As a result, White has become one of the key public figures in the debate.

White, TKO and Zuffa Boxing matter because the proposed UBO model would create a structure similar to UFC-style promotion. One organisation could control rankings, titles, contracts and fighter development.

The bill would not hand that structure to Zuffa Boxing automatically. However, it would create a legal route that a group like Zuffa could use.

White has said the Ali Act itself will not change for fighters who do not want to opt into a UBO. Technically, that is correct. The bill keeps the existing system in place.

Critics argue that the real-world effect could be different. If Zuffa Boxing can offer guaranteed minimums and benefits that other promoters cannot match, fighters may gravitate towards it.

Then, if enough talent signs with a UBO, the rest of the sport may have to follow.

Why Is the Ali Revival Act Controversial?

The opposition is unusually broad.

Bob Arum of Top Rank called the bill “a disgrace” and said it “eviscerates” the Ali Act. Oscar De La Hoya told the Senate it would let Zuffa “exploit fighters” in a way that resembled boxing before 2000.

Evander Holyfield wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed in November 2025. He described UBOs as “private leagues” where “a company could control every part of the league”.

Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn told BoxingScene that the existing Ali Act is “nearly always there to protect the fighter”. Roy Jones Jr. told Fight Hub TV the bill would “ruin boxing, totally”.

Nico Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali’s grandson and a professional boxer, also spoke against the current version. He told Congress that if the bill passes in its current form, “it should not have my grandfather’s name on it”.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman wrote an open letter as well. In it, he warned about “a powerful entity worth billions of dollars” trying to dominate the sport.

The argument from critics is consistent. They believe the bill weakens the separation that protects fighters.

They also point to TKO’s legal history. In 2024, TKO settled a $375 million antitrust class action brought by more than 1,100 UFC fighters who alleged wage suppression. A second case is still pending.

Because of that, critics say boxing should be cautious. In their view, giving the same parent company a federally approved route into boxing would be naive.

There is also a secondary concern. Some opponents fear that congressional approval of the UBO model could act as a kind of quasi-antitrust shield.

If Congress says one entity can control promotion, rankings and titles, it may become harder to sue that entity later for doing exactly what Congress allowed.

Who Supports the Ali Revival Act?

The supporter list is shorter, but it still matters.

Dana White and TKO Group are the main public faces. Lonnie Ali, Muhammad Ali’s widow and a co-founder of the Muhammad Ali Center, has endorsed the bill.

Mike Tyson has also backed it because of the safety provisions. The Association of Boxing Commissions board voted unanimously in favour, although some rank-and-file commissioners have disagreed publicly.

The California State Athletic Commission supports the bill too. So does Teddy Atlas.

Supporters make three main arguments.

First, they say the current boxing system is fragmented and confusing for fans. Second, they argue that boxers below elite level are often underpaid and underprotected. Third, they say choosing to sign with a UBO is not the same as being forced into one.

However, the support argument has become more complicated. USA Boxing, the governing body for amateur boxing in the US, withdrew its support in March 2026.

Bobby Scott, the ranking Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, has also pushed for further amendments in the Senate version.

What Happens Next With the Ali Revival Act?

The bill is now with the Senate. Ted Cruz is expected to introduce a Senate version in the coming weeks.

If the Senate passes a version that matches the House bill, and President Trump signs it, the Ali Revival Act becomes federal law.

The path to law is real. The House vote was bipartisan, and White has a public relationship with Trump. However, Senate amendments may still change parts of the bill.

For UK fans, the key question is what this means for transatlantic boxing.

The Ali Act is US federal law. Therefore, it only governs fights staged in the United States.

A UBO licensed in America would not automatically control a Matchroom card at the O2 or a Queensberry show at Wembley. However, it could still affect British boxing.

The biggest impact would be on where fighters sign and what terms they accept. If the most lucrative deals in the sport sit inside Zuffa Boxing, more British fighters may consider that route when their current contracts end.

For the background law, read our guide to what the Ali Act is in boxing.

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