Bellew warns Ali Revival Act would hand Dana White unchecked control over boxing

Former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew has condemned the Ali Revival Act and taken direct aim at UFC CEO Dana White, warning that the proposed legislation would be “the most frightening thing that would happen to boxing ever” by concentrating power in the hands of promoters at the expense of fighters.

Speaking on the Fight Your Corner podcast alongside UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, Bellew argued that the Revival Act — which seeks to amend the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act — would undermine the financial transparency and structural protections that currently exist for fighters. Critics of the proposed changes have raised concerns about clauses that would allow promoters to control titles and rankings while limiting financial disclosure requirements.

“If the Ali Act gets turned over, it’s the worst thing ever and it can’t be,” Bellew said. “You’re allowing one man to control the whole narrative and he is controlling everything that involves the fighter. And understand this, he ain’t even f*cking fighting.”

Bellew was pointed in his criticism of White, who recently expanded into combat sports promotion with the launch of Zuffa Boxing and has positioned himself as a reforming force in the sport. The former cruiserweight champion argued that promoters who have never competed should not be taking a disproportionate share of the revenue generated by the athletes themselves.

“Imagine turning up in an arena and they’ve all come to watch the two people,” Bellew said. “No one come to see you, f*ckface. No one comes to see you sitting on that first row. No one come to see your bald head sitting there. They all come to see what these two guys are doing in the ring and it’s them guys that should be taking the lion’s share. You didn’t bleed. You didn’t sweat. You didn’t take the punishment to help build all this.”

Bellew used Aspinall’s own career trajectory to illustrate his argument. The British heavyweight won an interim UFC title in 2023, successfully defended it once, and was elevated to undisputed champion following Jon Jones’ retirement in 2025. His most recent title defence against Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest after Gane poked him in the eyes. Bellew contended that these should be the peak earning years of Aspinall’s career, and that weakened regulatory protections would leave fighters in his position more vulnerable during contract and purse negotiations — not less.