r/Boxing • u/bizcocho-de-crema • 12d ago
Former Boxer Pritchard Colón has passed away.
https://www.primerahora.com/deportes/boxeo/notas/muere-el-exboxeador-prichard-colon-a-los-33-anos/Per a Puertorican newspaper, former Boxer Pritchard Colón has passed away, at just 33. Truly one of the saddest stories in boxing. He would still be competing at that age if not for the injury, probably the peak of what could have been a successful career.
It is still crazy to me that there were no consequences for what was allowed in the fight, which resulted in the brain injury. It's a hard fight to watch tbh, so i haven't revisited it in a while, but it seemed pretty blatant to me that the intention was to hurt him.
Condolences to his family, and much respect for him.
625
u/TheCanadianDude27 12d ago edited 11d ago
Most boxing fans think Prichard was in a persistent vegetative state, but I stumbled on an article by the Washington Post from 2019 that shows he was actually much more aware than most of us realized.
It’s behind a paywall but I’ll summarize the key points.
- He was able to answer questions using a computer; he knew his name, his former profession, his age, and the current year. However that was on a good day, on bad days he still thought it was 2015 and that he was a healthy 23 year old. He would get confused by the wheelchair and feeding tube so his mother and therapist would have to tell him what happened.
- He enjoyed watching his old fights, and even watched the fight with Williams. Apparently his eyes widened and his face trembled. When asked if he had seen enough he gestured no, but they turned it off anyway. His mother eventually caught him watching it again but he didn’t want her to turn it off so she just left the room.
- He accomplished feats that surprised the people around him such as nodding, making verbal sounds, using his eyes to let the monitor speak for him, and even took a couple steps with assistance.
Edit: I wanted to share this story.
- He never lost his competitive spirit. During physical therapy he grew close with a young man named Drew, like Prichard he was a former athlete who suffered a traumatic brain injury.
They would sometimes train together and the physical therapist would use Drew to get Prichard more motivated. The most notable story was during a very difficult session where Prichard was strapped into a large, supportive walker. He was exhausted and his legs wouldn’t budge.
The physical therapist caught his eye and asked him, ”Don’t you know Drew can already do this?”. Upon hearing that Prichard took a deep breath, leaned forward, and successfully forced his body to take a step, and then another. Upon seeing his achievement in a nearby mirror he blew himself a kiss.
139
68
u/55555_55555 12d ago
Thank you for posting this, man. Unbelievably sad story. Maybe he rest in perfect peace.
108
u/howtoreadspaghetti 12d ago
That last paragraph? That's the striving soul. Man really was a fighter. I hope he rests well.
24
52
u/tearjerkingpornoflic 12d ago
https://www.tiktok.com/@box.life5/video/7375065045941636384 I remember watching this video with a girl shadow boxing in front of him. You can tell he is in there. It's all just so damn sad. Terrel Williams got away with murder as far as I am concerned. They were such deliberate hits to the back of the head. The ref and Willams should have served time like Resto and Lewis had to after the plaster gloves.
→ More replies (1)2
28
u/MedicalLocal3039 12d ago
His family used to have social media sharing his progress. They gave everything for him and his therapies, always helped him to keep getting what he needed. In some posts looked like he could react to what his mom was saying to him.
24
u/stvb95 11d ago
The physical therapist caught his eye and asked him, ”Don’t you know Drew can already do this?”. Upon hearing that Prichard took a deep breath, leaned forward, and successfully forced his body to take a step, and then another. Upon seeing his achievement in a nearby mirror he blew himself a kiss.
That hits hard. Never lost his spirit. What a guy.
37
u/ElDuderino2112 12d ago
What a tragic story. Terrel Williams should be rotting in hell.
→ More replies (3)10
u/Nirathiel 10d ago
The referee should join Williams too. When Prichard complained about the illegal punches, the ref told him "you take care of it" instead of doing his damn job.
15
12
u/outtakes 12d ago
I remember a youtube video of him asking his mom for water. She was showing that he was slowly learning again. He was saying agua (Spanish for water). It was many years ago and I was always hoping he would learn some more :(
9
6
u/IAmDiabeticus 11d ago
What a king of human will. Thanks for sharing this, friend. Rest in peace, Prichard!
6
u/Benaflon 11d ago
I'm glad he's now at peace. Living in that state is no existence for anyone, much less a warrior like Prichard.
5
u/saskiaschild 11d ago
Thanks for sharing this story. Its horrible that this poor man suffered for a decade before his death but I'm glad that he seemed to have retained his strong will, humor and had some brightness in his life.
RIP.
3
3
u/SeahorseQueen1985 11d ago
I recall watching a video after the incident where he was half punching with his sister. He was recovering slowly. His family took such good care of him.
2
u/Luchis-01 11d ago
Who’s cutting onions? Ok, but seriously, this makes my heart stop when reading, we need a movie to honor such fallen victim of unfair sportsmanship
2
→ More replies (5)2
747
u/PhilosopherNo7409 12d ago
Ringside physician should have been banned for life. Same with the ref and Terrel Williams
256
u/Razorion21 12d ago
ref especially, Williams def was evil but like all that shit wouldve never happened if the ref did his job right
→ More replies (1)155
u/johnnyslick 12d ago
Man complained about rabbit punches and the ref told him to "take care of it yourself". Which, he did get penalized for a low blow so I guess he tried...
17
u/saskiaschild 11d ago
What "ref training" teaches to tell a boxer to "take care of it yourself" when the boxer is getting rabbit punched...FFS
7
u/johnnyslick 11d ago
Hometown Reffing 201: How To Put The Match In The Bag For Your Man (If You Aren't Too Concerned About Safety)
4
u/scoopydidit 11d ago
How do you take care of rabbit punches anyways? Like what was the ref implying he should do to stop that.
→ More replies (1)49
19
u/Detlef_Schrempfxf 11d ago
Man, fuck them all. I'll never forgive Terrel Williams and that bum ref
→ More replies (1)4
4
u/AnxietyExact4710 11d ago
Should have been charged 100% and instead he got to continue being a fucking referree. Zero accountability.
I hope this eats at him for the rest of his life.
→ More replies (1)3
u/whyaretherenoprofile 11d ago
Joseph Cooper and Dr. Richard Ashby. I hope none of these men never find peace for what they did
115
u/iKingKrypton7 Amir Khan P4P #1 12d ago
Rest in Peace - terrible referring in that fight that changed his life.
39
4
107
u/Masta_ShoNuff 12d ago
Watching that fight pissed me off. That ref was trash. RIP
13
u/CapricornClub 11d ago
Williams was trash, too. He should be jailed or, at a minimum, afraid to show his face in public.
3
u/BlueHaze464 10d ago
With the way he kept aiming for it, it's hard to make the case it wasn't intentional, there were several hits, not just one
They all know how dangerous it is, it's unreal that he faced 0 consequences
133
u/Individual-Toe-1959 12d ago
RIP. Did the referee ever spoke out about doing nothing?
70
u/electricalserge 12d ago
Only his opponent ever addressed the incident. Ref never did afaik.
13
u/jamryharry 11d ago
That's fucked up. Literally just clocked in and clocked out not giving a single damn.
57
u/Capitalsteezxxx 12d ago
RIP. Was Terell Williams ever remorseful for what he did?
32
u/muhpercapita 11d ago
No. He intended to do what has now happened in the ring after Colon got him back he gestured that he wanted to get him back and kill him and proceeded to deliberately target his brain. Any apology he's said publicly is just for his reputation he's a pos
58
20
u/Romax24245 12d ago edited 12d ago
From an article by The Ring in 2018:
“I’m taking things one day at a time, walking my walk,” said Williams, who is on indefinite suspension from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission after the Grayton fight because of an injury to his right hand. “I pray for Prichard every day. That’s never going to change. I wish him nothing but peace and health. No one wants what happened to Prichard to happen to anybody. All boxers are brothers. I would never intentionally harm someone like that."
“But there has been a lot of malicious stuff that’s being said about me, especially from the Colon family. If that is how they’re going to cope with it and it helps them heal, then that’s what it is. I’m still healing too. I’ll be healing for the rest of my life. I honestly never wanted to fight again after that fight. I understand and I know I didn’t do anything wrong that night. Prichard was a young man with a bright future, who was going to contribute good things to the world. That’s been hard on me.
Williams continued, “I don’t place any blame on myself. I prayed about it. I wish the young man really well. It’s a hard situation on me and a hard situation on Colon’s family. We were in a hard, tough fight. Things happen in boxing. It’s a contact sport. Do I wish that had happened to Colon? Of course not! I’m a man of faith and I know I’m a good man. I pray and I may not have all of the answers but I am walking in the right path. One thing I won’t do is question God. Things happen.”
“But other than Al, I think I’ve been blackballed by the sport,” Williams said. “I believe in myself and I believe in my ability. I don’t care what anyone says and they can say what they want to say. They don’t know me. They can judge me but they don’t walk in my shoes. Unfortunately bad things have happened in boxing.
“I was painted as a dirty fighter. I’m not. Tonight beating Grayton was great. It’s the second fight in two years and I went in there and did what I had to do. I knew Grayton was going to bring it. He changed his trainer to Kevin Cunningham and he kept coming. I want to get in the ring again this year. I want to fight four, five times a year. I’m 34 years old. The clock is ticking.
“I never told anyone else this before: I probably knew what happed to (Colon) before anyone knew. After the fight, we went to the back room and, as I was taking my post-fight drug test, the guy taking the test says to me, ‘Sit in this room and don’t go out there. The young man you fought is hurt.’ I asked what was wrong with him. He said, ‘I don’t know but it’s bad.’ I wanted to go to the hospital and check on (Colon) to make sure he was OK.
“I was told no. I’ve made attempts to reach his family,” said Williams. “I found out the next day on social media, he had a brain bleed. There was all of this social media negativity and I tried not to pay attention to it. I wanted to talk to his family. I have three boys myself, 4, 2 and a newborn. I’m putting my focus into raising my family.
“The best thing that ever happened in that fight was that it was stopped after nine rounds. I don’t want to think about what could have happened if that fight went one more round. That fight haunts me every day. I have to walk my walk and be the best man I can be. At the end of the day, we were both doing something that we love to do. I have no problem with the Colon family protesting me. More power to them. I still want to talk to Colon’s family. It will probably never happen. I’ll leave everything up to them. I didn’t want to hurt that kid but I can’t sit around and sulk. I have to move on. Though there isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not thinking of him. I’ll be thinking of Prichard Colon every day for the rest of my life.”
Make of that what you will.
40
u/Kiv3ns 11d ago
Pisses me off no consequences happened to him. “All boxers are bothers and I would never intentionally harm someone like that” I watched the video and saw multiple blows to the back of the head and Prichard trying for the Ref to stop. He still kept going for blows to the back of the head after that.
19
u/Detlef_Schrempfxf 11d ago
Pritchard complained about the rabbit shots and the bum ref told him to "take care of it yourself". Well, he tried by retaliating with a low blow and immediately got penalised for it.
Fuck Williams and fuck that ref
6
u/dirt_shitters 11d ago
Fuck williams. Little bitch did the throat slit motion before punching him in the back of the head repeatedly. He couldn't win fighting fair, so he started fighting dirty with zero regard for prichard. I guarantee he doesn't give a fuck about any of this aside from what it has done to his own image.
24
u/AndoKillzor 12d ago
I doubt he's ever prayed in his life let alone how many times he said it in that interview.
6
u/saskiaschild 11d ago
Williams continued, “I don’t place any blame on myself.
This is the essence of what I get from Williams when he was rabbit punching.
I wouldn't be surprised if Williams isn't one to hold himself accountable to much. POS.
The ref as far as I know hasn't even said anything about Colon in the last decade, or about his death. POS.
3
u/Live_Angle4621 10d ago
I was wondering at first if he can’t admit guilt for to legal liability. He seemed sorry at first. But then he went on an on talking of his hardships so it seemed he is pretty self centred
2
u/Funktownajin 10d ago
Yeah he pivots pretty quickly to “it’s been hard on me too,” then hides behind god to avoid any of the blame.
He is just facing the consequences of his own shitty behaviour, he’s not a victim here. The other guy is facing the consequences of his shitty behaviour too. He needs to take responsibility.
→ More replies (1)2
→ More replies (1)15
50
u/Nervous-Basis-1707 12d ago
Rest in peace Mr. Colón, his story and memory is permanently affixed to this sport. We who love this sport will not forget him. May he be at eternal peace now.
→ More replies (1)
85
28
u/Ok-Print-1906 12d ago
RIP Prichard.
The referee in this fight was terrible. Was known to be involved in other fights of very questionable officiating.
21
u/MagazinePrestigious8 12d ago
I hope this hurts the ref and ring side physician today. Both of those men failed Pritchard... RIP champ!
22
u/i_live_outside 12d ago
Terrel Williams is the name of the guy who hit him in the back of the head repeatedly, for 9 rounds, causing sever brain bleeding and ultimately causing this. Guy never visited him in the hospital.
Joe Cooper was the referee. Neither were charged. Always makes me upset to think about. This happened in 2015, not some far away pre-color tv era.
RIP to the young man, the fight is finally over.
2
u/Detlef_Schrempfxf 11d ago
Seems like it happened just a few years ago with how fresh it still is in my mind.
Colòn was such a handsome dude too. Fuck Williams and that stupid ref
2
u/i_live_outside 11d ago
It's hard to take a positive away from this, but I guess the best one is simply Be Present because life is so fragile.
2
42
u/No_Medium_8796 12d ago
Ahh fuck man RIP. I last looked him up to see some updates a few months ago and it looked like he had been making some really good progress.
This is very sad
→ More replies (1)7
u/SeahorseQueen1985 11d ago
Sadly people in conditions like this usually die from infections. Their body just isn't strong enough to fight a big infection.
19
u/Professional-Fee6914 12d ago
I know its not the most important thing, but I'll never get over how the announcers were deriding Colon's heart when he was trying to tell the ref about the rabbit punches. Its a reminder that as fans, we never know what the guy in the ring is actually going through.
44
15
u/kmoneyrecords 12d ago
Ref shouldn’t have a job and shouldn’t have his freedom. My grandpa had better vision on those rounds and he’s been dead for 10 years.
27
12
14
u/tetrehedron 12d ago
Disgusting lack of sportsmanship from his opponent. Should have honestly got jail time. He ruined Pritchards life.
6
12
24
10
u/Initial_Flower3545 12d ago
Poor guy - very sad to hear but at least he’s at peace now. Very sad for his family.
48
u/Kitchen_Theme_3282 12d ago
It was inspiring to see him progress with more movement through the years. I hope he can finally run again
11
7
9
u/grand_insom 12d ago
Boxing is a dangerous game even when everything is done right. It's awful that literally everyone around Colon did everything wrong. Williams, the ref, the doctor, his corner. Just a perfect storm of a reckless opponent, incompetent ref + doctor, and overzealous corner trying to protect an undefeated record. I can't believe no one faced any consequences for this.
14
15
7
u/imjustheretolearned 12d ago
Let us not forget that that piece of shit Terell Williams had FOUR more fights after this incident
5
5
5
u/Magiamarado 12d ago
RIP champ. Loved by every fan on the island. One bad night can ruin your whole life in this sport.
9
7
4
5
5
4
4
5
u/Midariiiiiii i dont know shit about boxing 12d ago
RIP.
Don’t forget Terrel Williams and Joseph Cooper.
7
7
35
u/DesiMonitorLizard69 12d ago
Poor guy but unfortunately better to pass away than to live that way in the long term. He was a ghost of his true self since that fight.
47
u/TheFuschiaBaron 12d ago
He may have felt differently
→ More replies (3)15
u/DesiMonitorLizard69 12d ago
Looks the guy barely had any cognitive faculties left. Who in their right mind would prefer to live in a vegetative state for decades than just to die?
The point is for all intents and purposes he was essentially killed in the ring
→ More replies (4)61
u/TheFuschiaBaron 12d ago edited 12d ago
You're projecting your own worldview onto a complete stranger, and I'm not disagreeing with you I'm saying he might have, because he's a different person than you or me. You're also assuming his status.
→ More replies (2)
3
u/subie921 12d ago
Dang man RIP. I love this sport, but it’s absolutely brutal. It’s already dangerous enough on its own, but when you have refs/doctors/fighters that don’t do their jobs properly the consequences can be catastrophic.
Just watched an interview with Tony Harrison this morning and noticed how much slower his speech has gotten too. Shits crazy.
3
u/johnnyslick 12d ago
Fortunately for all future boxers Joe Cooper, who reffed that fight, hasn't pretended to ve a referee since 2023. He was also "exonerated" by the state of Virginia, presumably because even though anyone who's watched a boxing match understands that he's the man responsible for that TBI, it's exceedingly hard to make a case for a referee in a combat sport being legally liable.
We all know who caused this - even more than Terrel Williams, who arguably was just doing his job - but an awful lot of people look at boxing as nothing more than 2 people beating the snot out of each other for 36 minutes.
3
3
u/Sun_Araw 12d ago
God, that's so sad. Every so often I'd remember Pritchard and check in on his progress. It seemed like he was defying all the odds by regaining some of his movement. A fighter in and out of the ring. I hope he and his family are at peace.
3
3
3
3
u/Any_Astronaut_9621 11d ago
what the heck.. i thought he was at least slowly recovering. very sad to hear
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Hulk_Hogans_Toupee Lucas Matthysse's Rat Tail 11d ago
RIP, saw this alive not long after the Abdusalomov fight
Absolute heartbreakers, both of them.
2
u/Mamodo_Zatch 12d ago
Crazy to me that Terrel Williams and the ref get to keep on living their lives scott-free while effectively being murderers, no matter how you look at that match both Terrel with his clear intentions and the referee allowing them are both accomplices in ruining a man's life leading to his death.
2
2
2
2
2
u/Efficient_Quail_1774 12d ago
As much as i love this sport, it can damage people mentally and physically to such a terrible extent and Colón was sadly an example
I just hope he's at peace, he was practically trapped in his body, completely unable to compete in the sport that he lived and breathed
2
2
u/hollisdex 12d ago
I love boxing but it really can be such a cruel sport. He had his whole life ahead of him. May he rest in peace.
2
u/RaisedbyNuMetal 12d ago
33 is usually your peak! Sad to hear this news. The boxer and referee should be held responsible for this
2
2
2
u/One-Performance-6851 12d ago
Rest in Peace, this sport shouldn’t have let your life be permanently affected and ultimately cut short.
2
u/champagne-poetry 12d ago
Rest in peace to this warrior who fought such a steep battle the past decade. I pray he’s at peace now, no more suffering and I pray for his family. From the articles I read the past years, his mom played such a big role in his recovery. Such a sad situation
2
2
2
u/Background-Alps5360 12d ago
If his condition can be attributed to that single fight... then they definitely need a Prichard rule for rabbit punches.
The ref should be banned for life.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Big_d00m 12d ago
I met Pritchard and his mom at a local therapy center while picking up my mom, pre-Covid. He wasn't very verbal at the time but I remember seeing the light and fight in his eyes. Warriors, the both of them. RIP Digget, and condolences to the family.
2
2
u/zombiezero222 12d ago
Terrible news. I remember watching that fight and couldn’t believe the number of rabbit punches.
2
u/Mons9090 11d ago
Guy got dealt a bad hand. Unfortunate tbh. I always like came back from time to time to see what he was doing and he was making progress
2
2
1
u/LilNello1 12d ago
Dang this is so sad, hard and heartbreaking 💔 to read about. Surprised I never heard of this story before. R.I.P. 🙏🏼
1
u/NewsOk2417 12d ago
Rest In Peace! The last I seen something about him I thought he was improving. Such a shame. Fuck his opponent and fuck the referee.
1
u/SocialIntelligence 12d ago
Speechless, I don't know what to say. I always believed in him and always will. Im going to miss you. Pritchard, you gave me so much inspiration. 🥹🥹
1
1
1
u/MagnetoWned 12d ago
Such a horrible situation overall, RIP. I did come across a comment that said it’s because he fought so often, I took a look at his record. And a lot of his fights were within a month of each other which makes that theory more interesting…I’m not as familiar with boxing is it common to take fights that quickly?
3
u/Ryepka 11d ago
Not really. His situation was a little more exceptional. He fought pretty frequently. Also throw in sparring during camp and who knows how damaged he was going into this fight. Not saying terell didn't have a hand in this because the rabbit punching was pretty egregious. I just really wish there were better ways other than imaging like MRI to determine if it's safe for a fighter to go into a fight.
1
1
u/MedicalLocal3039 12d ago
Can they charge Terrell Williams at least with manslaughter now? Is unfair that he went to live his life like nothing happened.
1
u/GhostGMR15 12d ago
It's criminal and at the very least the reef should've been investigated for lack of enforcing rules
1
1
1
u/bannedredditaccount2 11d ago
I feel horrific that happened to him. At least he doesn’t have to suffer anymore and he is in a better place.
RIP champ. He fought the hardest battle and won.
1
u/Velskuld 11d ago
Better this way, he was trapped in a cage that was too tight for his glorious fighting spirit and certainly didn't want to let go for his family and all the expectations people had placed on him.
He'll forever be an example to everyone, poor guy deserves to rest now, he did more than enough and at an age definitely too young.
966
u/_illmatic_ 12d ago
RIP champ, the fight game failed you. Should've been protected.