Boxing Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. appeared in an interview and he did not hold back when the discussion turned to Zuffa Boxing and the proposed changes to the Muhammad Ali Act.
When asked whether he supports the Ali Act reform being pushed by the UFC’s parent company, Jones immediately questioned why protections for boxers would be altered in favor of promoters.
“First of all, if you made the Muhammad Ali Act to save or to look out for the boxers, why would you go and change it for a promoter?” Jones said.
He then used an analogy to explain why he believes the proposed changes make no sense.
“You basically change it back saying, okay, you put these security bars on the building so no one can break in. But since he lives in the neighborhood now, we know he likes to break into stores. We’ll give him the key so he can get in. Come on, bro. Really?” he added.
Jones also pointed to the UFC’s treatment of its own athletes as a major reason why he does not trust Zuffa entering boxing.
“If it was that good, all the ex-UFC athletes would be talking about it and they would be saying good things about it,” he said. “They don’t.”
He continued by arguing that boxers should already know what to expect based on the UFC’s track record.
“So if you didn’t do good by your own people, what makes me think you’ll do good by mine now?” Jones asked. “You’re giving a few of them a bigger bag than they used to getting, spoiling a few of them because you’re trying to win your way in. But we already know what the final outcome is.”
On the topic of monopolization, Jones gave a grim prediction for what he believes could happen to American boxers under a single dominant system.
“They’re going to be monopolized,” he said. “They’re going to be basically slaves. They’re going to be owned sheep.”
Jones then explained that boxers could lose both their independence and identity.
“You don’t get to decide what you wear no more. You don’t get to decide who you are no more,” he said. “You have no identity. You just become a sheep that does what your master says do. And that’s wrong.”
He also highlighted what he sees as one of the most important legal protections within the current Muhammad Ali Act: financial transparency.
“The Muhammad Ali Act allows you to know everything that came in, every penny, every dollar,” Jones explained.
According to Jones, the proposed changes would remove that level of visibility for boxers.
“Now they’re trying to change it to where you can know what the boxers were paid, but you can’t know how much they made on the whole event,” he said. “They’re going to hide that.”
Jones then questioned how boxers could fairly negotiate without access to the event’s total revenue.
“So they made 500 million and you were the main event,” he said. “Ain’t you entitled to some of that?”
He also addressed the possibility of eliminating sanctioning bodies in favor of a single-title system, arguing that it would give promoters complete control over who gets opportunities.
“They got one title and they dictate who competes for that title,” Jones said. “So if you piss them off, you’ll never get a title match.”
He warned that outspoken boxers could ultimately be frozen out of the sport entirely.
“Some of the best boxers in the world, if they stand up for themselves and want to be themselves, they’re not going to get a match,” he added.
Jones closed by saying the sport’s history itself could disappear if the current structure is replaced.
“There’s going to be no such thing as WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO champ no more,” he said. “That’s going to be gone. We’re going to erase the history to make it look like UFC. I can’t do it.”
[Editor’s Note: Quotes have been edited for clarity and readability.]
