WASHINGTON – The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid, accepted free ringside tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission to three professional boxing matches while that state agency was trying to influence him on federal regulation of boxing.

Mr. Reid, a Democrat of Nevada, took the free seats for Las Vegas fights between 2003 and 2005 as he was pressing legislation to increase government oversight of the sport, including the creation of a federal boxing commission that Nevada’s agency feared might usurp its authority.

He defended the gifts, saying they would never influence his position on the bill and was simply trying to learn how his legislation might affect an important home state industry. “Anyone from Nevada would say I’m glad he is there taking care of the state’s no.1 businesses,” he told the Associated Press.

“I love the fights anyways, so it wasn’t like being punished,” added the senator, a former boxer and boxing judge.

Senate ethics rules generally allow lawmakers to accept gifts from federal, state, or local governments, but specifically warn against taking such gifts – particularly on multiple occasions – when they might be connected to efforts to influence official actions.

“Senators and Senate staff should be wary of accepting any gift where it appears that the gift is motivated by a desire to reward, influence, or elicit favorable official action,” the Senate ethics manual states. It cites the 1990s example of an Oregon lawmaker who took gifts for personal use from a South Carolina state university and its president while that school was trying to influence his official actions.

“Repeatedly taking gifts which the Gifts Rule otherwise permits to be accepted may, nonetheless, reflect discredit upon the institution, and should be avoided,” the manual states.

Several ethics experts said Mr. Reid should have paid for the tickets, which were close to the ring and worth between several hundred and several thousand dollars each, to avoid the appearance he was being influenced by gifts.

Two senators who joined Mr. Reid for fights with the complimentary tickets took markedly differently steps.

Senator McCain, a Republican of Arizona, insisted on paying $1,400 for the tickets he shared with Mr. Reid for a 2004 championship fight. Senator Ensign, a Republican of Nevada, accepted free tickets to another fight with Mr. Reid but already had recused himself from Mr. Reid’s federal boxing legislation because his father was an executive for a Las Vegas hotel that hosts fights.

In an interview Thursday in his Capitol office, Mr. Reid broadly defended his decisions to accept the tickets and to take several actions benefiting disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s clients and partners as they donated to him.

“I’m not Goodie two shoes. I just feel these events are nothing I did wrong,” Mr. Reid said.

Senate ethics rules require senators to avoid even the appearance that any official meetings or actions they took were in any way connected with political donations.

Mr. Reid broadly defended his actions, stating he would never change his position because of donations, free tickets, or a request from a former staffer-turned-lobbyist.

“People who deal with me and have over the years know that I am an advocate for what I believe in. I always try to do it fair, never take advantage of people on purpose,” he said.

Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission when Mr. Reid took the free tickets, said one of his desires was to convince Messrs. Reid and McCain that there was no need for the federal government to usurp the state commission’s authority. At the time, Messrs. McCain and Reid were pushing legislation to create a federal boxing commission.

“I invited him because I was talking with his staff” about the legislation, Mr. Ratner said. “This was a chance for all of my commissioners, who are politically appointed, to interact with them. It was important for them to see how we in Nevada did things.

“I am a states rights activist and I didn’t want any federal bill that would take away our state rights to regulate fights,” he said, adding that he hoped Messrs. McCain and Reid, at the very least, would be persuaded to model any federal commission after Nevada’s body.

Mr. Reid said he remembered talking to Mr. Ratner briefly at the fights and knew Mr. Ratner was working with his Senate staff on the federal legislation.