After boxing in a fraternity’s amateur ‘fight night,’ a University of Las Vegas student named Nathan Valencia sadly died.
Nathan Valencia died just days after fighting toe-to-toe with another student at the Sahara Events Center in Las Vegas for a charity benefit.
He was 20 years old.
Lacey Foster is the girlfriend of Nathan Valencia.
On November 19, only minutes after stepping out of the ring, he fainted and was transported to the hospital.
During the boxing battle, Nathan’s girlfriend Lacey Foster said she spotted Nathan “just wanting to get away to catch a breath.”
She said, “Once I walked in there, I just had like a really weird feeling,”
A @unlv student has died after a fraternity boxing match.
Loved ones say Nathan Valencia participated for charity.
Questions are being raised about whether precautions were taken to keep participants like Valencia safe.
Story at 6pm on @8NewsNow. pic.twitter.com/pZu842mHVI
— Vanessa_Murphy (@Vanessa_Murphy) November 26, 2021
After the ‘fight night’ staged by UNLV’s Kappa Sigma fraternity, doctors reported he was suffering from internal bleeding and was gravely hurt.
Nathan was an “active member” of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at UNLV, according to Lacey.
Lacey continued, “They pretty much said they’re gonna try to do their best but they didn’t know if he was going to make it out.”
The kinesiology student died on November 23, only days before his birthday, as a result of his injuries.
Eight different people received his organs.
His bereaved family has sworn that they will investigate how a 20-year-old wound up in a school-sanctioned amateur fight that claimed his life.
According to accounts, Nathan’s loved ones pleaded with him to drop out of the boxing battle, but he believed that he was doing it for a good cause.
They said in a statement, “mistakes were made and safety precautions overlooked at the annual charity event.”
“College students should not be placed in a situation where they are pitted against each other for combat,”
[embedded content]
According to the family’s attorney, there was no quick medical assistance accessible and no professional referee.
Several other fights had been planned as part of the fundraiser for Center Ring Boxing, a club in the north valley that trains troublesome children.
Nathan’s fraternity posted a tribute to their late friend on Instagram.
It said, “Our brother Nathan showed us nothing but love and will continue to do so from up above.
“His strength and kindness never went unseen and we were so thankful to have him as a brother.”
Nathan’s death was labeled a “tragic incident” by UNLV President Keith Whitfield, who stated the university was looking into ways to make off-campus gatherings safer.
He said, “We are shocked and heartbroken as we mourn the loss of one of our own.
“Coping with the loss of life is always difficult, especially under these circumstances.”
“UNLV is committing all available resources to review the incident and determine how off-campus events like these can be as safe as possible.”
Nathan’s GoFundMe page has raised nearly $46,000.
Source: 101Biography
