Prichard Colon has died at the age of 33, his father Richard Colon confirmed Thursday in a post on the boxer’s Facebook page. Colon spent the last decade in a persistent vegetative state after suffering a brain bleed in the ring in 2015.
“I regret to inform you of the passing of my son Prichard,” his father wrote. He thanked supporters for years of love and prayers, and said he was never able to fulfill his son’s wish of taking him back to Puerto Rico on vacation.
Colon was 23 and unbeaten at 16-0 with 13 knockouts when he faced Terrel Williams on October 17, 2015 at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia, on an NBC-televised Premier Boxing Champions card.
He was hit repeatedly to the back of the head during the bout and complained about it to the referee. Williams was docked a point for the illegal shots. Colon was knocked down twice in the ninth round and lost a point of his own for a low blow.
His corner then removed his gloves after the ninth, believing the fight was finished. It was scheduled for 10, and Colon was disqualified when he could not answer the bell. He became dizzy and vomited in his dressing room shortly afterward, then collapsed. Doctors diagnosed a subdural hematoma and performed emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. He spent 221 days in a coma.
Life after the Williams fight
Colon woke up but never recovered. He could not walk, and could only speak with computer assistance. His parents, Richard and Nieves Melendez, cared for him at home in Florida for more than 10 years and documented his rehabilitation on social media, from physical therapy sessions to birthdays to dancing with his mother.
The family filed suit in 2017 over the ringside medical response, seeking more than $50 million. A Virginia state investigation had already concluded that no single action was egregious enough to place blame on any one person.
His case is the most severe in a run of brain trauma stories that keep shadowing the sport. Former WBO featherweight champion Heather Hardy is currently fundraising to cover rent and living costs after her own traumatic brain injury.
The rule that carries his name
The WBC adopted a zero-tolerance policy on rabbit punches in 2016 and named it after him. The Prichard Colon rule directs referees to penalize blows landing where the spine meets the brainstem, an area the sanctioning body describes as largely unprotected. The WBC also named Colon an honorary world champion.
WBO president Gustavo Olivieri led the tributes, saying Colon’s story reached far past the ring and that the boxing community stayed with him through the years. His professional career lasted just over two years and ended with a record of 16-1.
A cause of death has not been announced, and it is not yet clear whether it was directly connected to the injuries he suffered against Williams.
