{"id":857433,"date":"2026-08-14T05:24:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T05:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/857433\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T05:24:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T05:24:12","slug":"prichard-colon-dies-aged-33-more-than-a-decade-after-fight-left-him-with-severe-brain-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/857433\/","title":{"rendered":"Prichard Col\u00f3n dies aged 33 more than a decade after fight left him with severe brain injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prichard Col\u00f3n, a former boxer who was left with severe brain damage after a fight more than a decade ago, has died aged 33.<\/p>\n

His father, Richard Col\u00f3n, confirmed his son’s death in a Facebook post on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post did not detail the Puerto Rican boxer’s cause of death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

World Boxing Organization (WBO) president Gustavo Olivieri posted a tribute to Col\u00f3n on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Today, the WBO solemnly joins his family and all those who had the privilege of knowing, supporting, and loving him in mourning his passing,” Mr Olivieri said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What happened to Prichard Col\u00f3n?<\/p>\n

Col\u00f3n was injured in a boxing match against Terrel Williams in Virginia in the US in October 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Born in Florida, US, Col\u00f3n kicked off his boxing career in Puerto Rico, where he won five amateur titles.<\/p>\n

He was considered a “rising star” in the lead-up to the nationally televised match, ESPN reports<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here’s how a report from Reuters described the match at the time:<\/p>\n

“An online video of the fight showed Williams, a 31-year-old fighter from Los Angeles, punching Col\u00f3n in the back of the head in the seventh round, a shot that appeared to stun Col\u00f3n, who was briefly examined in his corner.<\/p>\n

“Williams was penalised for the illegal punch.<\/p>\n

“Col\u00f3n was then knocked down twice in the ninth round.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“He was disqualified after the ninth round.<\/p>\n

“His corner mistakenly took off his gloves, thinking it was the final round and that the fight was complete.”<\/p>\n

After the match, Col\u00f3n needed assistance to walk to his dressing room after the match.<\/p>\n

He said he felt dizzy, vomited and then “passed out”, according to a report from the Washington Post.<\/a><\/p>\n

Col\u00f3n was rushed to hospital where he underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, spending seven months in a coma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was 23 years old.<\/p>\n

\"Prichard<\/p>\n

Prichard Colon, left, and Terrel Williams during the fight. (Getty Images via AFP: Patrick Smith)<\/p>\n

In 2016, the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation determined there was no wrongdoing on the part of organisers of the fight, the Washington Post reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“No one action [or failure to act] can be identified that is so apparent or egregious to justify holding accountable any one person,” the regulator said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Signs of hope<\/p>\n

In 2017, nearly two years after the fight, Col\u00f3n was still in what doctors described as a persistent vegetative state, according to an article from ESPN<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He needed around-the-clock care.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the time, his parents told the US broadcaster they hoped Col\u00f3n would regain some brain function despite the challenges he faced.<\/p>\n

“I do believe in miracles,” his father said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By 2019, Col\u00f3n had made significant progress, according to another article by the Washington Post<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After months of therapy, he was able to communicate using facial gestures, verbal sounds and a computer that tracked his eye movements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He could pedal on a recumbent bike, and his competitive spirit was driving him to take steps with assistance in a friendly rivalry with a fellow patient.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“He gets tired and impatient like anyone, and some of his days are better than others,” Washington Post reporter Kent Babb wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“What’s clear is that he’s made it this far, beyond where anyone thought he would, because of good coaching.”<\/p>\n

‘Extraordinary fighting spirit’<\/p>\n

News of the former boxer’s death triggered an outpouring of grief in the boxing world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Prichard’s life was defined by courage, perseverance, and an extraordinary fighting spirit,” Mr Olivieri said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“His story transcended the ring and deeply touched the boxing community, which stood by him throughout the years with respect, admiration, and hope.”<\/p>\n

The WBO paid tribute to Col\u00f3n’s “resilience” as well as “the unwavering love of his family”.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tributes to Prichard Col\u00f3n were posted to social media after news of his death broke. (Facebook: World Boxing Organization-WBO)<\/p>\n

ABC with Reuters\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prichard Col\u00f3n, a former boxer who was left with severe brain damage after a fight more than a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":857434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,298169,82,298172,298170,298171],"class_list":["post-857433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-prichard-colon","tag-sports","tag-terrel-williams","tag-what-happened-to-prichard-colon","tag-who-is-prichard-colon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}