KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A University of Tennessee student collapsed during a charity boxing tournament and later died at a hospital.
Knoxville Police said 20-year-old Joseph Tanner Wray collapsed between the second and third rounds Friday night. Medical staff attended to Wray before he was brought to University of Tennessee Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
It was Wray’s first time fighting in the annual Ace Miller Boxing Tournament. Wray was a junior Aerospace Engineering student from Lawrenceburg, according to the tournament’s website.
“The entire UT community is mourning the loss of Tanner Wray,” Tennessee Chancellor Beverly Davenport tweeted Saturday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fraternity brothers.”
An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death. Police are investigating.
The tournament benefits the Golden Gloves Knoxville chapter, according to the website.
Knoxville Golden Gloves issued a statement on the tournament’s website saying that the remainder of the event was “cancelled out of respect to Tanner.”
The statement also said “the entire Golden Gloves family is heartbroken by his passing and extend our most heartfelt condolences to all that knew and loved Tanner.” The statement noted that “over the last 50 years, Knoxville Golden Gloves has worked to keep boxers safe and to avoid any serious injuries in over 6,000 amateur boxing bouts.”
“Golden Gloves is fully cooperating with all ongoing investigations and is hopeful the results will assist in preventing similar tragedies in the future,” the statement said.
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