Muhammad Ali's grandson and Oscar De La Hoya condemn controversial Ali Act reforms in U.S. Senate hearing
"If this bill is passed in its current form, it should not have my grandfather's name on it," Nico Ali Walsh proclaimed to the committee, "as it would betray the principles his Act was created to protect."
Former six-division champion turned boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya and Nico Ali Walsh, the grandson of Muhammad Ali, spoke out against the bipartisan Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act at Wednesday's U. S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing in Washington.
The controversial bipartisan bill , which is supported by TKO Group — the parent company of UFC, WWE and Zuffa Boxing — passed the U. S. House of Representatives by voice vote last month and will soon be introduced into the Senate by Ted Cruz.
De La Hoya and Walsh have been key adversaries of the bill. Many in boxing are of the belief that it could hand TKO monopolistic control of a third combat sport because the Ali Revival Act would allow the formation of Unified Boxing Organizations (UBOs). UBOs remove the separation between promoters and sanctioning bodies and could allow TKO to control the ranking system, the belts, and also organize the events in which fighters would fight on.
This level of control is similar to what TKO has in the UFC. "The Ali Act was built on a simple principle," Walsh began. "The people controlling fighters should not also control the entire marketplace those fighters depend on.
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