§6307c Sanctioning Organizations

Summary

Requires the Association of Boxing Commissions to create, within 2 years after May 26, 2000, and approve by a majority vote of its member State boxing commissioners, clear written guidelines for rating professional boxers. Congress expects sanctioning groups and State boxing commissions to follow those guidelines. A sanctioning organization cannot get paid for a boxing match until it tells boxers that if a boxer asks about a rating, the group will, within 7 days, give a written explanation of the group’s criteria, the boxer’s rating, and the reasons for that rating, and will send a copy of that explanation to the Association of Boxing Commissions. If the group changes the rating of a boxer who had been in its top 10, it must post the change and an explanation on its website within 7 days for at least 30 days and give a copy to an association that most State boxing commissions belong to. Each year by January 31 the group must give the Federal Trade Commission and the Association of Boxing Commissions a full description of its ratings criteria, policies and fee schedule, its bylaws, its appeals process, and a list with business addresses of officials who vote on ratings. The information must be in writing and, for documents over 2 pages, also electronic, and the group must promptly tell the FTC about important changes. The FTC will make the information public and may charge a fee to cover costs. Instead of sending the FTC the papers, the group may keep a public website with all the required information, free to access, easy to search, and updated when things change.