A. The Professional Boxing Safety Act
The Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 is the latest in a long line of
Congressional attempts to legislate boxing reform.3 The Act, which Senators
McCain and Bryan describe as "modest but practical," establishes health, safety,
and ethical guidelines for the boxing industry. The objective of the Act is to
protect the health and welfare of professional boxers and to ensure that boxing
events held in the United States are properly supervised.
Under the Act, every professional boxing contest must take place with the
approval and supervision of a state boxing commission;4 every professional boxer
must be physically examined before a bout and copies of the exam must be
provided to the local boxing commission; an ambulance or medical personnel and
a physician must be present throughout the bout; and every boxer is to be
provided with health insurance for injuries sustained during the bout.
Identification cards are to be issued to every boxer and must be presented prior to
each bout, and the results of all bouts must be reported to a central registry within
48 hours after the bout is concluded. While modest accomplishments have been
made for the sport of boxing under the Act, a great deal of work still remains.