The family of an Atlantic City boxer killed near Las Vegas is trying to get him home.
Qa’id Muhammad, 28, was found fatally shot in Henderson, Nevada, about 16 miles outside Las Vegas, where the boxer had gone to train.
A preliminary investigation found Muhammad suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest, Henderson police said.
While officials there have not released the victim’s identity, those close to Muhammad confirmed it was him.
His family is trying to get him home in time to honor his Islamic faith.
“As many know Qa’id is a devoted Islamic brother,” the post says. “The religion practices three days for burial. We are running (out of) time.”
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In addition to boxing, he was also a talented singer and songwriter, his loved ones said.
Muhammad started boxing at the city’s Police Athletic League, and was the Philadelphia Golden Gloves Junior Olympic Division 100-pound championship at 13.
He graduated from high school in 2008, the same year he was an alternate on the U.S. Olympic boxing team.
It’s also when he made his professional debut with a fourth-round knockout over Mario Gaxiola in Connecticut on March 7, 2008.
He followed that with four more knockouts. His record wound up at 8-0, all but one by knockout.
Muhammad’s return to the ring in 2011 after a two-year hiatus was cut short when he was arrested in a carjacking. He pleaded guilty to that, and was again focusing on his career when he moved to Las Vegas.
Video from last year shows him training at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yznkBP2xL2Y
Ryan Small, 38, of Henderson, Nevada, has been charged in the killing, which police say may have been drug-related.
Small is charged with murder with a deadly weapon.
It was the eighth homicide in the town this year.
