(Reuters) - Professional boxing suffered its second death this week after 23-year-old Argentine super lightweight Hugo Santillan died on Thursday from injuries suffered in the ring five days ago.
Santillan passed away at a Buenos Aires hospital where he was being treated for injuries suffered in his Saturday fight against Uruguayan Eduardo Abreu, the World Boxing Council (WBC) said on its website.
"The World Boxing Council and its President, Mauricio Sulaiman Saldivar, send Hugo’s family and friends their deepest condolences, at this time of deepest grief," said the WBC.
An ESPN report https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/27255784/santillan-23-second-boxer-die-week that cited a doctor from the hospital where Santillan was treated said the boxer underwent surgery for a clot in his brain and twice went into cardiorespiratory failure before he died of cardiac arrest.
According to fight reports, Santillan's nose began to bleed in the fourth round of the draw against Abreu and he then collapsed in the ring as the result was announced.
Santillan's death comes two days after Russian Maxim (NASDAQ:MXIM) Dadashev died at 28 after suffering brain injuries during a fight last Friday in Maryland.