(Newser)
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Former amateur boxers John McCain and Harry Reid have teamed up to bring federal oversight to the sport. The senators have introduced legislation to create a United States Boxing Commission that would oversee boxing matches around the country and fight conflicts of interest in the sport, reports Politico. The move comes after the controversial decision in the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight earlier this month, which both lawmakers have criticized as an example of the problems facing the sport.
The move would "better protect professional boxing from the fraud, corruption, and ineffective regulation that has plagued the sport for too many years," McCain said, adding that while he would prefer for the industry to regulate itself, the workings of a "powerful few" left federal regulation as the only option. "Professional boxing remains the only major sport in the United States that does not have a strong, centralized association, league or other regulatory body to establish and enforce uniform rules and practices," he said. The bill would also create a medical registry and local boxing commissions to uphold standards and protect boxers.
