- A Las Vegas college student died four days after he collapsed following a boxing match.
- Nathan Valencia, 20, was part of the main event for a fraternity fundraiser, KLAS reported.
- Joe Castro, a friend of Valencia, told KLAS that he did not see any medical personnel at the fight.
A Las Vegas college student died four days after he collapsed shortly following a fraternity boxing match, KLAS reported.
Nathan Valencia was a junior at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He was part of the main event for the Kappa Sigma Fight Night on November 19.
A witness and friend of Valencia's, Joe Castro, told KLAS that Valencia had no prior boxing experience and the event was like an "underground fight club."
"The Valencia family is heartbroken over the loss of Nathan. Our preliminary investigation reveals mistakes were made and safety precautions overlooked," Valencia's family said in a statement to KLAS sent through their lawyers Nick Lasso and Ryan Zimmer.
KTNV reported that Valencia collapsed just minutes after his fight finished. Castro told KLAS that no one helped Valencia and members of the fraternities broke out into a fight after he collapsed.
Lacey Foster, Valencia's girlfriend, told KTNV that during his fight she could see he was trying to "get away" to catch a breath.
Valencia's family told KLAS that he suffered brain injuries that he couldn't recover from and died four days later on November 23. They also told the outlet they don't think the event had any professional referees or medics to help at the event. Castro also said he didn't see any.
"College students should not be placed in a situation where they are pitted against each other for combat. "Kappa Sigma Fight Night" is an event that has been held annually and was well known to both UNLV and the national Kappa Sigma Fraternity," the family said in the statement.
In a statement released on Friday, UNLV President Keith Whitfield said the university is "shocked and heartbroken as we mourn the loss of one of our own."
Whitfield said the university is committing resources to "review the incident and determine how off-campus events like these can be as safe as possible."
A GoFundMe page set up to raise money to help with Valencia's medical and funeral expenses gathered over $47,000 as of Saturday night.
"Nathan was the kind of person who put others before himself. Anyone who knows him could see how much he cared and loved for his family, friends, and myself," Foster said of Valencia in the fundraiser.
Insider has reached out to the law firm representing the Valencia family, UNLV, and the Kappa Sigma chapter for comment.