Rising boxing star Preston Freeman fatally shot outside club Escalade

Undefeated professional fighter Preston Freeman, who had been training in Salinas, Calif., with Garcia Boxing, was shot and killed Wednesday night outside a U. City nightclub. Freeman was 20 years old.

An amateur star who had won all three of his pro fights, Freeman had been sent by his parents in 2012 to train in the Central California city of Salinas with Sam and Max Garcia, and be managed by Kathy Garcia, as a plan to escape the violence-torn streets of his St. Louis neighborhood, where a younger brother and a close friend had been murdered previously.

St. Louis police say Freeman was shot in the chest outside Club Escalade shortly before midnight. He was then driven to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation revealed Freeman was involved in an altercation inside the venue before it spilled out into the parking lot, where shots were fired.

His trainers, Sam and Max Garcia, also had called Freeman the most naturally talented boxer they had ever trained — high praise, considering two previous proteges, Jose Celaya and Eloy Perez, had ascended to No. 1 world rankings as members of the Garcia Boxing stable.

Freeman joined Garcia Boxing in early 2012 as a 19-year-old, fresh out of the amateur ranks. He beat Jose Mendoza (7-7) in his pro debut in October of 2012. He scored a first-round knockout over Eduardo Hernandez in his second pro fight on Dec. 1, 2012, and, two weeks later, won a unanimous decision over Vicente Guzman at the Storm House in Salinas.

Information from ringsideboxingshow.com contributed to this report.