Senators Reid, McCain push bill to regulate boxing

Manny Pacquiao, from the Philippines, left, lands a punch to the face of Timothy Bradley, from Palm Springs, Calif., in the fourth round of their WBO welterweight title fight Saturday, June 9, 2012, in Las Vegas. / AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

(AP) WASHINGTON - Giving voice to the outrage over Timothy Bradley's controversial split decision over Manny Pacquiao, two senators introduced legislation Monday that would create a special boxing commission to oversee all matches in the United States and restore integrity to the sport.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who boxed while at the U.S. Naval Academy, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a former middleweight boxer, are pushing the measure establishing the U.S. Boxing Commission, an entity that would carry out federal boxing law, work with the industry and local commissions and license boxers, promoters, managers and sanctioning organizations.

Speaking on the Senate floor, McCain evoked the words of former sportswriter Jimmy Cannon, who called boxing the "red light district of sports." He said the recent dispute stemming from the welterweight bout between Bradley and Pacquiao "is the latest example of the legitimate distrust boxing fans have for the integrity of the sport."

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Earlier this month in Las Vegas, Pacquiao seemed to have the fight in hand, but two judges decided otherwise, giving Bradley a split decision in the welterweight title bout. The results ended Pacquiao's outstanding seven-year unbeaten streak and left promoter Bob Arum angry and demanding a full investigation by Nevada officials.

"I've never been as ashamed of the sport of boxing as I am tonight," Arum, who handles both fighters, said after the fight.

Bradley won five of the last six rounds on two scorecards and four on the third. He won 115-113 on two scorecards, while losing on the third by the same margin. The Associated Press had Pacquiao winning 117-111.

"Clearly, the conspiracy theories and speculation surrounding the fight are given life because there are so many questions surrounding the integrity of the sport and how it is managed in multiple jurisdictions," said McCain, who pointed out that professional boxing is the only sport in the United States without a strong, centralized association regulating it.

Under the legislation, all referees and judges participating in a championship or a professional fight lasting 10 rounds or more would have to be fully registered and licensed by the commission. A sanctioning organization could provide the names of judges and referees it considers qualified for that caliber bout, but only the commission could appoint judges and referees to participate in the matches.

[derekwinters27]

I think some senator lost his britches in the sportsbook.

[2happy2ride]

I've been in the boxing game since 1988 & yes there are crooks & scams but there are also legitimate & honest promoters & managers.
How ironic, attorneys, the most distrusted of all professions, when they become politicians want to regulate EVERYBODY else's morality but theirs.
Government KEEP OUT.

[omnibus66]

The problem with boxing is, and always has been, the judging. There is no such thing as an unbiased human, and therein lies the problem. I watched the controversial fight, and in my biased opinion, ten of the twelve rounds were very close and could have been scored for either fighter. But in boxing, there is always a pre-fight notion of who will win and many, especially the HBO commentators, view the actual fight wearing glasses tinted with that pre-fight notion.

You can't fix boxing, you can only enjoy it or hate it.

[aesmero]

PACQUIAO vs BRADLEY 2. THE MAJORITY HAVE NO INTEREST IN WATCHING IT IN NOVEMBER AS THEY KNOW THAT PACQUIAO HAS ALREADY BEATEN BRADLEY. THE POWER OF BRADLEY IS QUESTIONABLE. HE JUST TALKS TOO MUCH. A NEW BOXING COMMISSION IS BEING CREATED BECAUSE OF THIS FIGHT. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD KNOWS VERY WELL WHO WON & IT IS MANNY PACQUIAO...

[endrepubs]

Sounds like the Senators lost some money on that fight.

[baileycccc]

Government should stay out of Sports. This group in congress wants to regulate everything. All we ever asked of them is to balance their check book but they are incapable of doing it.

[Lerianis4]

Give me a break here.... if you want to complain, complain to the Boxing organization, not to legislators who have a habit of messing things up even worse.

[d-dagger]

WTH is Congress doing getting involved in sports??? This is NOT why we elected them, and they can't seem to do the job they WERE elected for. Unbelievable! This has to be the most inept Congress in US history.

[tstruble1]

look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp...(Gillette) what'll you have Pabst Blue Ribbon? my Dad would be 108 and we loved Friday nights at the fights on TV. i'd crawl around all through his knees while we watched guys beat each other.

[yogozarfy1]

Gotta love the Republicans. Whenever the government tries to do something of value, like help those who need it, it's "big government" and needs to be fought against to "maintain our freedoms." But regulating abortion, gambling, prostitution, pornography...and now boxing?! Yeah, that's "small government," isn't it?

"Only have the government intrude in people's personal lives. Don't let them actually help people! that's socialism!" -GOP

[hobie2515]

To call John McCain a conservative and an example of the true nature of the party is misleading. Plus, don't forget this was introduced by McCain AND Reid