Prichard Colón
Prichard Colón Meléndez | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 19, 1992 Maitland, Florida, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Digget |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Super welterweight |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Reach | 74 in (188 cm) |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 17 |
| Wins | 16 |
| Wins by KO | 13 |
| Losses | 1 (Fight abandoned) |
Prichard Colón Meléndez (born September 19, 1992) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer, honorary WBC World Champion, and gold medal winner at the 2010 Pan American Youth Championship in the 64 kg (141 pounds) category.[1] After a 2015 match with Terrel Williams, in which he was struck in the back of his head, Colón collapsed in the dressing room and remained in a coma for 221 days due to a brain hemorrhage. He was then in a persistent vegetative state and unable to speak. He was eventually released from the hospital, and is currently receiving physiotherapy and is now able to communicate through the use of a computer.
Early years and amateur career[edit]
Prichard Colón was born in Maitland, Florida. His parents are Richard and Nieves Colón, a retired waitress.[2][3] At the age of 10, his father decided to move to Puerto Rico, so Colón could represent the island in competitions. He moved there with his younger sister, while his mother and older brother remained in Florida. The family settled in the rural town of Orocovis, Puerto Rico.[4]
Colón started his career at the Albergue Olímpico in Salinas, Puerto Rico. It was there that he earned the nickname of "Digget", which comes from the word "digger" in relation to his height. After graduating high school, Colón began studying Business Administration at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[3]
During his amateur career, Colón gained fame for winning 5 national championships in both the 141 and 152 pound divisions.[5][6] He also won the gold medal at the 2010 Pan American Youth Championship in the 64 kg category.[7] He fought at the Brazil Pre-Olympics to win a pass to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but lost to a Venezuelan fighter, Gabriel Maestre, in the third round.[8]
In 2012, Colón decided to become a professional fighter. He ended his amateur career with a record of 17-0–0.[9]
Professional career[edit]
Colón made his professional debut on February 23, 2013. His first fight was against Xavier La Salle at the Cosme Beitía Salamo Coliseum in Cataño, Puerto Rico. Colón knocked out LaSalle in the first round. Colón distinguished himself for his restless schedule. He fought five times in 2013 and 7 times in 2014.[10] His most notable fight came on September 9, 2015, when he fought against Vivian Harris, a more experienced fighter. The fight was held at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto and ended with Colón knocking out Harris in the fourth round.[5][11]
On October 17, 2015, Colón was slated to fight Terrel Williams in an undercard fight at the EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. The fight was not originally part of the schedule, but was added when Andre Dirrell stepped out from his fight with Blake Caparello for medical reasons.[12] The fight occurred just one month after Colón's last fight against Vivian Harris, and was the end of Colón's professional fighting career.[10]
Brain injury[edit]
Colón and Williams fought for nine rounds, in the first five rounds of which Colón appeared to be ahead. Throughout the match, Williams repeatedly punched Colón in the back of the head despite this type of punch being illegal. Colón informed the referee, Joe Cooper, of the illegal punches to the back of his head, to which the referee replied "You take care of it."[13] Colón hit Williams with a low blow, for which Colón was penalized 2 points. After multiple illegal blows, Colón was knocked down for the first time in his professional career during the ninth round. Colón spoke to the ringside doctor between the rounds and stated he felt dizzy, but felt he could go on.[14] The ringside doctor, Richard Ashby, cleared Colón and allowed the fight to continue. Colón was disqualified after the ninth round, when his corner mistakenly removed his gloves thinking it was the end of the fight.[15] Colón's corner claimed he was incoherent and experiencing dizziness. [16] Colon was assisted to the dressing room by his mother, after which he vomited and collapsed. Colón was then taken to hospital via ambulance and was diagnosed with a left-sided subdural hematoma measuring 1.5 cm in diameter with 1.2 cm of midline shift. An emergency hemicraniectomy was performed to reduce brain swelling and evacuate the haematoma.[17][18] As a result, Colón went into a coma for 221 days.[16]
Colón was treated for several weeks at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia, but was eventually transferred to Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia.[19][20] Colón was moved from the hospital to his mother's home in Orlando, Florida.[21] As of April 2017, Colón had remained in a persistent vegetative state.[22]
In 2017, the parents of Prichard Colón filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the ringside doctor and the promoters for more than $50 million.[23] The lawsuit had not yet been settled as of 2019, and Prichard Colón's mother, Nieves Colón, believes it may never be settled.[24]
In a September 2017 interview, while discussing his role in Colón's injury, Williams said "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."[25] Williams is now mostly known for his role in the fight, as opposed to his career.[26]
In July 2018, Colón's mother posted a video of Colón on her Facebook account in which he can be seen taking physical therapy and responding to verbal commands. She also stated that he was learning how to communicate through a computer.[27]
In 2023, his family, particularly his mother Nieves, continue to work with him whilst Colón continues rehabilitation. His speech has not returned as of 2023.[28]
Professional boxing record[edit]
| 17 fights | 16 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 13 | 0 |
| By decision | 3 | 0 |
| By disqualification | 0 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Loss | 16–1 |  Terrel Williams
|
DQ | 9 (10), 0:17 | Oct 17, 2015 | EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
|
Colon down twice in round nine and lost two points for a low blow; DQ'd after his corner removed his gloves after round nine; Williams lost one point for rabbit punching, Colon suffered bleed to brain and later a coma |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Vivian Harris
|
KO | 4 (6), 1:03 | Sep 11, 2015 |  Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|
|
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Michael Finney
|
TKO | 2 | Aug 1, 2015 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
|
|
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Daniel Calzada
|
TKO | Apr 11, 2015 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
|
||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Héctor Muñoz
|
UD | Jan 31, 2015 | 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
|
||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 |  Christopher Degollado
|
UD | Sep 11, 2014 | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
|
||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Lenwood Dozier
|
UD | Aug 9, 2014 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
|
||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 |  Carlos García Hernández
|
TKO | Jun 19, 2014 | Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
|
||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Javier García
|
TKO | Apr 28, 2014 | Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
|
||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Shad Howard
|
TKO | Mar 15, 2014 | Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
|
||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 |  José Vidal Soto
|
TKO | Jan 25, 2014 | Gimnasio Manuel Toribio, Jacagua
|
||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Víctor Moya
|
TKO | Jan 19, 2014 | Arena del Masacre, Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic
|
||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Jonathan García
|
RTD | Dec 21, 2013 | Coliseo Cosme Beitía Salamo, Cataño, Puerto Rico
|
||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Juan Ramón Santos
|
TKO | Dec 7, 2013 | Coliseo Pedro Julio Nolasco, La Romana, Dominican Republic
|
||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jorge Burgos
|
TKO | Nov 9, 2013 | Coliseo Pedro Julio Nolasco, La Romana, Dominican Republic
|
||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Patrick Thomas
|
TKO | Mar 23, 2013 | Bahia Shrine Temple, Orlando, Florida, U.S.
|
||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Xavier Lasalle
|
KO | Feb 23, 2013 | Coliseo Cosme Beitía Salamo, Cataño, Puerto Rico
|
References[edit]
- ^ "Panamerican Youth Championships - Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic - February 21-25 2010".
- ^ Sánchez Fournier, José (October 23, 2015). "Prichard Colón muestra señales de mejoría". El Nuevo Día. Retrieved October 23, 2015. (in Spanish)
- ^ a b Gaudier, Jonathan (June 11, 2012). "El orocoveño Prichard "Digget" Colón, se prepara para dar el salto al profesionalismo". PRBoxea.com. Retrieved October 20, 2015. (in Spanish)
- ^ Rivera Giusti, Carlos (April 18, 2015). "Prichard "Digget" Colón: Boricua por decisión unánime". NotiCel. Retrieved October 23, 2015. (in Spanish)
- ^ a b Sloan, Mike (September 9, 2015). "Boxing: Prichard Colon to Face Vivian Harris in PBC on Spike Undercard". SherDog.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Regresa en gran cartelera el prospecto Prichard Colón". Mr. Boxing. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015. (in Spanish)
- ^ "Panamerican Youth Championships - Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic - February 21-25 2010".
- ^ "AIBA World Championship Hamburg 2017: Boxers' profile" (PDF). AIBA. July 2017. p. 479.
- ^ Lardies, Jesse Ian (March 15, 2013). "The Boxing Tribune interviews former amateur standout, Prichard Colon". The Boxing Tribune. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ a b Bracelin, Jason (October 6, 2015). "Hot prospect Prichard Colon faces undefeated Terrel Williams on October 17". PremierBoxingChampions. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ Burton, Ryan (September 20, 2015). "Prichard Colon Reflects on his Brutal KO of Vivian Harris". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ "Prichard Colon vs. Terrel Williams replaces Dirrell-Caparello on 10/17". Boxing News 24. October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ "Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe Must Stop Ignoring the Prichard Colon Case". 27 June 2017.
- ^ "A Boxing Tragedy: The Prichard Colon Case | Sports Litigation Alert". Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ Scavone, Jason (17 October 2015). "Terrel Williams upends Prichard Colon in odd disqualification". PBC Boxing. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
- ^ a b Scavone, Jason (October 17, 2015). "Terrel Williams upends Prichard Colon in odd disqualification". PremierBoxingChampions. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ "Ex-boxer Colon's parents seek more than $50M". ESPN.com. 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
- ^ "Prichard Colon Lawsuit" (PDF).
- ^ Narváez, Carlos (November 3, 2015). "Trasladarán a Prichard Colón a un centro de rehabilitación en Atlanta". ESPN. Retrieved November 6, 2015. (in Spanish)
- ^ Sánchez Fournier, José A. (November 26, 2015). "Prichard Colón sigue su batalla". El Nuevo Día. Retrieved November 26, 2015. (in Spanish)
- ^ Sánchez Fournier, José A. (May 26, 2016). "Dan de alta a Prichard Colón". El Nuevo Día. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ Weinbaum, William (April 15, 2017). "Shattered dreams". ESPN. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "Ex-boxer Colon's parents seek more than $50M". ESPN.com. 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ "For injured boxer Prichard Colón, a fight that never ends". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ "Two years later, Terrel Williams still thinks about Prichard Colon every day". 18 September 2018.
- ^ "Welterweight relentlessly abused six years on from Prichard Colon tragedy". 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Prichard sigue mejorando: va hasta de shopping". Primera Hora (in Spanish). July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
- ^ Munro, Daniel (2023-09-19). "Prichard Colon's 2023 updates show inspiring progress as former boxer turns 31". HITC. Retrieved 2023-09-21.