A young man who was left on life support after allegedly being punched in the head during a brawl in Sydney’s inner city on the weekend, has died in hospital.
Evander Tuala, 23, suffered critical head injuries after being knocked unconscious during the fight on Oxford Street in Darlinghurst on Saturday night.
It is alleged Mr Tuala fell to the ground and hit his head as several men traded punches outside the Oxford Hotel at about 12:30am on Saturday morning.
Police say he died on Monday night in St Vincent’s Hospital.
The ABC understands his life support was switched off after it was clear he couldn't survive, and his family had said their goodbyes.
Three men — one aged 19 and two aged 20 — were arrested and charged with affray over the brawl, but no one has yet been charged over the alleged fatal blow.
Detectives believe 10 to 15 people were involved in the incident and have appealed to the public for video footage to assist in the investigation.
Mr Tuala's relatives had appeared resigned to losing their relative affectionately known as "Woody" and have spent the past three days paying tribute to him.
"You came into this world and brought so much love into our family," aunt Niu Tuala wrote. "Now you've left us broken."
Cousin and Australian rugby sevens player Dietrich Roache wore the word "Woody" on his wrist tape while playing in Singapore on Sunday.
He pointed to the sky after scoring a try during the game.
Detective Superintendent John Duncan said on Sunday it was believed a fight broke out between two groups of young men who did not know each other prior.
Superintendent Duncan said Mr Tuala, from the Fairfield area, was with another man who was ejected from the hotel for a "very minor incident".
"As a result of that, then the brawl broke out outside," he said.
The Surry Hills police commander said the incident was being treated as "very, very serious" and homicide detectives were consulting with investigating officers.
"We're treating this as a potential homicide," Superintendent Duncan said.
A strike force has been set up to investigate.
