Boxing Reform Bill Faces a Battle

Having won an important decision in his struggle to create a national boxing commission, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday this was only the first round of a tough fight.

The Senate on Wednesday approved legislation authored by McCain to create the U.S. Boxing Commission, set national standards for the sport and oversee the activities of the state commissions. The national governing body would operate out of the Labor Department.

“We conducted many hearings before we decided on this legislation,” McCain said in a telephone interview from his Washington office. “It’s not something where we just said, ‘Gee, we need a boxing commission. We need more bureaucracy.’ ”

The bill requires approval by the House of Representatives and the signature of President Bush.

The new national entity would consist of a three-person commission, appointed by the president, with an executive director running the day-to-day operation out of the nation’s capital. The commission would grant federal licenses to boxers, managers, promoters and sanctioning organizations. Current state licenses for the sport’s participants would still be required as well. The commission would set uniform health and safety standards and establish a centralized medical registry. The commission could hold hearings and revoke, suspend or deny licenses, but would only do so when it was thought state commissions were not fulfilling their responsibilities.

“I am convinced that a national boxing commission is the best hope for reforming the sport,” McCain said. “It’s very important because it would offer true protections for the boxer.”

Boxing is the only major U.S. professional sport without a central regulatory authority.

“We need some kind of conformity among the states, some minimum standards,” McCain said. “The federal government will have the authority to establish those minimum standards, not unlike any other federal regulatory agency.

” ... Fighters are being exploited because they come from the lowest rung of the economic ladder. Many times, they end their careers less capable physically and mentally. Yet this is a sport where there is no pension. God knows boxers need a pension more than anybody. It’s just crazy. When I see fighters retire penniless, with their physical and mental faculties impaired, I am just wrenched by it.”

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) dropped his opposition to the bill when McCain agreed to allow the new commission to determine whether the networks airing fights -- primarily HBO and Showtime -- should also be licensed as promoters.

“This is a multimillion-dollar industry and it needs federal oversight,” Reid said Wednesday in the Senate.

McCain said he thought it would be difficult to get the bill approved in the House. “It may require more scandals in the sport, though I hope not. Maybe the latest FBI sting will create some pressure,” he said, referring to an investigation that included a search of the Top Rank boxing organization’s offices in January.

He said the uniformity of standards would diminish the power of the state commissions, “and that’s why I think we will have some difficulty getting this through.”

Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), principal sponsor of the House version, said that while its prospects were uncertain, he didn’t foresee any major obstacles.

“We are going to start pushing as hard as we can,” King said. “Now that it is through the Senate, it should make it easier in the House.... There is a general consensus that boxing needs to be reformed.”

Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, agreed.

“I think the status quo is not working,” Ratner said, but he added: “I don’t know if the federal government is the answer. I’m a states’ rights advocate. I don’t want to see anything done that would hurt our state’s rights here in Nevada.”

Times staff writer Janet Hook in Washington contributed to this report.