A 16-year-old boxer died Thursday about one hour after receiving a blow to the face during a sparring match.
Raul Alvarez Jr. of North Hollywood, Calif., was working out at Pullmans Gym in Burbank Thursday evening at around 6 p.m. when his sparring partner hit him the face, reports KTLA. Alvarez complained about head pain, and an ambulance came to whisk him to the hospital.
Alvarez reached the hospital conscious at around 6:45 p.m., but an hour later, he was dead.
Police officers happened to be at the hospital for an unrelated case when Alvarez died. Burbank police Sgt. Darin Ryburn told City News Service that Alvarez had "complained of pain from light sparring while boxing." When at the hospital, Alvarez suddenly became unconscious and doctors couldn't revive him, explained Ryburn.
Both Alvarez and his sparring partner were wearing protective head gear and regulation boxing gloves, reports CBS2/KCAL9.
A 19-year study on the rise of boxing injuries, released in 2011, found that 2,500 children under 17 years old are treated in emergency rooms every year from injuries related to boxing, reports KTLA in the video above.
Pullmans Gym teaches "boxing for kids" classes three times a week, and a monthly membership starts at $60.