WBC Honorary Champion Left in a 221-Day Coma, Dies at 33

Prichard Colón, the Puerto Rican boxer whose promising career ended in tragedy inside the ring, has died at 33. His father and former trainer, Richard Colón, confirmed the news on Facebook Thursday, writing, “I regret to inform you of the passing of my son Prichard.”

Colón was once one of boxing’s brightest prospects. Born in Florida and raised in Orocovis, Puerto Rico, he built an amateur record of 170-15 and won gold at the 2010 Pan American Youth Championship before turning pro in 2013. He carried a perfect 16-0 record, with 13 knockouts, into the ring on October 17, 2015.

That night in Fairfax, Virginia, everything changed. Colón was repeatedly struck with illegal rabbit punches during his fight against Terrel Williams and told the referee about the blows, only to be waved off. He was knocked down for the first time in his career in the ninth round, and though he told the ringside doctor he felt dizzy, he was cleared to continue.

Colón collapsed in the dressing room afterward and was rushed to the hospital, where doctors found a subdural hematoma and performed emergency surgery. He fell into a coma that lasted 221 days. He never regained the ability to speak, spending the next decade relearning basic communication through physical therapy and a computer, cared for by his parents in Orlando, Florida.

Williams, who never fought again after facing Colón, addressed the aftermath in a 2017 interview, saying, “I pray for Prichard every day. That’s never going to change.” Colón’s parents later filed a lawsuit seeking more than $50 million in damages from the ringside physician and the event’s organizers.

In 2021, the WBC named Colón an honorary champion, a nod to the career cut short before he ever got a shot at a title. His parents’ lawsuit remains unresolved nearly a decade later, a case his mother has said may never be settled.