Puerto Rican boxer Prichard Colon was in serious condition Sunday after suffering a stroke during a fight in northern Virginia, a promoter said.
Boxer Prichard Colon slips into coma after Virginia fight
Colon underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain after Saturday’s bout against Terrell Williams in Fairfax, Virginia, said Lou DiBella, president of DiBella Entertainment.
Within moments of presenting symptoms in the dressing room after the bout, Colon was placed in the care of emergency physicians and rushed to Inova Fairfax Hospital, DiBella said.
“He suffered a stroke as a result of an injury sustained in the fight and immediately went into surgery to relieve pressure on the brain,” DiBella said in a statement.
“His condition remains critical.”
Colon was knocked down twice in the ninth round, the second from a right hand just before the bell. In a bizarre sequence, he returned to his corner and one of his trainers began to remove his gloves, thinking it had been the tenth and final round.
While Colon was in the dugout, they realized their mistake and put his gloves back on, but referee Joseph Cooper disqualified him.
Colon, a rising star in the super welterweight division, left the ring under his own power and once he reached the locker room he began to feel dizzy and nauseous.
He had an undefeated record in 16 fights and was favored to beat Williams in the co-main event of the NBC broadcast.
Six years after the tragic fight that left him in a coma
The Puerto Rican did not return to the ring after his corner removed his gloves due to a mix-up.
Colón went to the dressing room, where the symptoms of dizziness continued, for this reason the medical staff decided to transfer him to the hospital.
At the hospital, the worst of the diagnoses was confirmed, as Prichard had suffered a stroke.
The boxer went into a coma, and his family transferred him to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he received better medical attention.
After 221 days since his fight against Williams, Colon returned from the collapse, but the consequences were fatal.
Colon remained in a vegetative state since April 2017, all because of the stroke that caused him to lose his senses.
