U.S. Senators Continue To Push Boxing Oversight Bill

McCain, Others Introduce Boxing  Oversight Bill For Fourth Time

U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) introduced the “Professional Boxing Amendments Act for the fourth time this year,” according to John Eligon of the N.Y. TIMES.  The bill’s provisions include “establishing a central medical registry, minimum medical standards and a national commission to oversee the commissions in each state.” The bill unanimously passed the Senate in each of the previous three years, but it has “fallen short” in the House each time. Proponents of the bill say it would “provide the type of enforcement and oversight to crack down on medical improprieties in boxing,” but detractors are “concerned that a governmental boxing authority would only increase the sport’s bureaucratic red tape.”  The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates it would cost $34M to run a national boxing commission from 2008-12. World Boxing Association (WBA) and Int’l Boxing Federation (IBF) consultant Noah Reandeau said that the industry “could work to enforce the rules on its own.” He added that the WBA and IBF have “already taken steps … by helping state commissions institute the minimum standards” recommended by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC).  But ABC Legal Committee Chair Bruce Spizler said that he “believed that federal legislation would be the best way to effectively enforce medical standards” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/1).