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UNLV student’s boxing death ruled a homicide

A UNLV student’s death after a charity boxing match has been ruled a homicide, the Clark County Coroner’s office said Monday.

Nathan Valencia, 20, died last week of blunt force head trauma, the coroner’s office said.

Valencia participated in the main event of a charity boxing match sponsored by school-sanctioned fraternity Kappa Sigma to raise money for Center Ring Boxing, a north valley gym that trains troubled youth.

His family released a statement last week through their attorneys, Lasso and Ryan Zimmer of the Richard Harris Law Firm, which specializes in personal injury and wrongful death litigation.

“Our preliminary investigation reveals mistakes were made and safety precautions overlooked. We will be completing a full investigation to determine how UNLV and the Kappa Sigma Fraternity could allow and promote an event like this to take place,” the statement read. “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. We will leave no stone unturned to determine how a 20 year old ended up in a school-sanctioned amateur fight that cost him his life.”

Valencia, a junior at the university, was studying kinesiology at the time of his death, according to UNLV officials.

A Metropolitan Police Department statement released Monday said “there is not information that there is any criminality on the part of the venue,” adding that the state athletic commission was in charge of “enforcement action” related to the event.

“The Nevada Athletic Commission is the governing body in the state of Nevada for all unarmed combat events and promoters associated with unarmed combat,” police said. “Any enforcement action for the promoter or participants should come from their office.”

The athletic commission did not respond to requests for comment.

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.

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