Vigil held on birthday of UNLV student who died after charity boxing match

Nathan Valencia should person spent Saturday celebrating his 21st birthday, ordering mimosas astatine brunch and preparing for his archetypal nighttime astatine a Las Vegas nine with his fraternity brothers.

Instead, hundreds of his family, fraternity brothers and erstwhile classmates gathered astatine UNLV connected Saturday to shed tears aft his decease connected Tuesday.

Valencia died days aft participating successful the main lawsuit of a foundation boxing lucifer sponsored by fraternity Kappa Sigma to rise wealth for Center Ring Boxing, a northbound vale gym that trains troubled youth.

In a vigil connected campus, Nico Escobar retold the moments erstwhile his person fought valiantly Nov. 19 earlier stepping backmost into his country and tumbling over. Escobar felt helpless arsenic radical surrounded Valencia. He remembered proceeding echoes of Valencia’s girlfriend, Lacy Foster, screaming for help.

“That nighttime proved to maine however invaluable beingness is,” Escobar said sobbing. “I’m inactive trying to process it all.”

Isaac Ho said helium met Valencia portion the 2 were teenagers. Valencia attended Bishop Gorman High School and was 3 years into his clip astatine UNLV studying kinesiology. Ho said helium hopes to usage his concern grade and go palmy capable to unfastened a foundation successful Valencia’s name.

“I inactive don’t judge it’s existent that he’s gone,” Ho said. “I inactive substance him due to the fact that I cognize he’s watching implicit me. My extremity to determination guardant is to beryllium palmy successful beingness to the constituent wherever I tin commencement a instauration successful his sanction and dispersed his kindness astir the world.”

Foster, Valencia’s woman of astir 2 years, started an online fundraiser for Valencia’s family. It had raised much than $47,000 arsenic of Saturday night. She offered encouraging words to hundreds who grieved connected field Saturday.

“Find comfortableness successful those astir you and let yourself to consciousness each the emotions,” she said. “There is not a handbook for this and everyone volition grieve differently.”

The household released a connection done their attorneys, Lasso and Ryan Zimmer of the Richard Harris Law Firm, which specializes successful idiosyncratic wounded and wrongful decease litigation.

“Our preliminary probe reveals mistakes were made and information precautions overlooked. We volition beryllium completing a afloat probe to find however UNLV and the Kappa Sigma Fraternity could let and beforehand an lawsuit similar this to instrumentality place,” the connection read. “College students should not beryllium placed successful a concern wherever they are pitted against each different for combat. ‘Kappa Sigma Fight Night’ is an lawsuit that has been held annually and was good known to some UNLV and the nationalist Kappa Sigma Fraternity. We volition permission nary chromatic unturned to find however a 20 twelvemonth aged ended up successful a school-sanctioned amateur combat that outgo him his life.”

Joshua Chavez, a elder who participated successful the combat representing different fraternity connected campus, said the students provided a welcoming situation and tried to prioritize the fighters’ safety.

“It was highly unfortunate,” helium said. “He got successful determination hoping to rise wealth for foundation and virtually putting his beingness connected the enactment to assistance pother people. I don’t deliberation immoderate of america thought it would crook retired this way.”

UNLV President Keith Whitfield connected Friday said the pupil assemblage shares successful grieving with the Valencia household and promised to reappraisal the circumstances.

“We are shocked and heartbroken arsenic we mourn the nonaccomplishment of 1 of our own. Coping with the nonaccomplishment of beingness is ever difficult, particularly nether these circumstances,” Whitfield wrote. “UNLV is committing each disposable resources to reappraisal the incidental and find however off-campus events similar these tin beryllium arsenic harmless arsenic possible.”

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur connected Twitter.