HR4624-119

What This Bill Does

This bill amends the Professional Boxing Safety Act to let a unified boxing organization, or UBO, operate a covered-match system that is treated as compliant if it meets specified safety, medical, contract, disclosure, anti-doping, ranking, grievance, and conflict-of-interest conditions. It preserves protections for professional boxers while creating an alternative compliance structure for boxers who choose to contract with a UBO.

The bill strengthens medical requirements by requiring physical, eye, blood, infectious-disease, brain-health, heart, and pregnancy-related examinations depending on the boxer and match context. Boxers who suffer knockouts must complete brain-health examinations before their next covered match, and boxers age 40 or older must receive supplemental exams including chest X-ray, metabolic panel, and urinalysis. The bill also amends boxing industry standards to require health insurance with at least $25,000 in medical coverage for injuries sustained in a match, bars the premium from being the boxer's financial responsibility, requires at least $150 per boxer per round, and requires referees and judges to be certified and approved by the responsible state boxing commission or the Association of Boxing Commissions.

Who Benefits and How

Professional boxers benefit from minimum medical coverage, minimum per-round pay, pregnancy testing rules for covered matches, brain-health protections after knockouts, and extra screening for older fighters. Boxers who prefer a UBO contract benefit from an alternative compliance system that can create more choice in match organization. Licensed physicians, medical testing providers, anti-doping laboratories, and health insurance carriers benefit from required exams, tests, and coverage. State boxing commissions benefit from continued referee and judge approval authority. The Association of Boxing Commissions benefits because its certification can satisfy the referee and judge standard.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Unified boxing organizations must satisfy detailed medical, safety, disclosure, contract, ranking, grievance, anti-doping, and conflict-of-interest conditions to qualify for the alternative system. Boxing promoters must cover higher costs where they arrange matches subject to the amended standards. UBO compliance officers must maintain medical-exam, testing, insurance, pay, ranking, and grievance systems. Boxing referees and boxing judges must obtain certification and approval before participating in covered professional matches. Federal Trade Commission staff and state boxing commission staff must oversee compliance with the amended boxing-safety framework.

Key Provisions

• Establishes an alternative compliance system for unified boxing organizations and covered matches.
• Requires brain-health examinations for boxers who suffer knockouts before their next covered match.
• Requires supplemental annual examinations for boxers age 40 or older, including chest X-ray, metabolic panel, and urinalysis.
• Requires minimum $25,000 match-injury medical insurance without boxer-paid premiums.
• Requires promoters or UBOs to pay at least $150 per boxer for each round.
• Requires boxing referees and boxing judges to be certified by state boxing commissions or the Association of Boxing Commissions.