Professional boxing has suffered its second death in less than a week after Argentinian fighter Hugo Alfredo "Dinamita" Santillan died on Thursday from injuries sustained in the ring. He was 23.
Santillan's death comes only days after Russian boxer Maxim Dadashev died from injuries he suffered during a fight last Friday. The 28-year-old was placed into a medically induced coma after the fight but died on Tuesday.
Santillan, a super lightweight, was fighting against Uruguay's Eduardo Javier Abreu in Buenos Aires on Wednesday night. According to local reports, his nose started to bleed in the fourth round but he finished the fight. However, as the result of the bout – a draw – was announced, he fainted and was taken to hospital.
"Upon admission to the hospital, he had successive kidney failure and he did not come out of his coma," said Dr Graciela Olocco of Hospital Agudos San Felipe. "He had swelling of his brain and he never recovered consciousness. The swelling continued to worsen and it affected the functioning of the rest of his organs."
Olocco added that Santillan had surgery for a clot on the brain but died after a cardiac arrest at 12.35am local time on Thursday.
Santillan was the son of another professional boxer, Hugo Alfredo Santillan. He had a record of 19 wins, six losses and two draws going into Wednesday’s fight. – Guardian
