ESPN has informed promoters and managers that fighters will no longer be allowed to wear temporary tattoo advertising on their bodies during any of the network's boxing cards. If any fighter enters the ring with a tattoo or any advertising on their outfit, there will be a rights fee deduction of $10,000 taken from the promoter and possible expulsion from future ESPN shows for any boxer who contravenes the new rules.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission had taken a similar stand and was overruled by Clark County's District Court judge Valerie Vega. The judge indicated that the NAC's ban was a violation of the First Amendment rights of boxers. The judge ruled that there was no evidence that temporary body markings, including temporary tattoos, are distracting.

Top ranked junior middleweight Bronco McKart has spoken out against the ESPN rules, which he feels is just another case of boxers getting the short end of the stick. Bronco wants to know why fighters are always being punished for trying to make extra money, and wishes that they would just leave the boxers alone, and allow them to make a few extra bucks on the side through the advertisement.

Controversial trailblazer Bernard Hopkins made the tattoo wearing fad popular when he wore one for an online casino last September during his championship bout against Felix Trinidad. Reportedly, Hopkins was paid $100,000 for the artwork, money which he reportedly bet on himself, making a respectable profit on the deal.

Although Bronco McKart does not plan on wearing a tattoo himself, at least not a casino one, he does make a good point when he asks what about a fighter getting a major deal and getting a real tattoo across his back, what would happen then? Would the fighter be banned? McKart emphasizes that this is not a personal attack on ESPN, but a concern that he is expressing on behalf of all boxers. "Get off the fighter's back and let the advertisers on,.” he added.