Prichard Colón entered the ring undefeated. Sixteen fights, twelve by knockout, a Pan American medal in the display case. He was 23 years old and carried all of Puerto Rican boxing on his shoulders.
On October 17, 2015, in Fairfax, Virginia, he faced Terrel Williams. For nine rounds he took rabbit punches, those blows to the back of the head that the rules prohibit because of their danger. Referee Joe Cooper did not stop the fight. Colón went down twice and ended up disqualified for removing his gloves, with no strength left to continue.
That night was the last time he walked on his own. In the locker room, he vomited and lost consciousness. A subdural hematoma sent him straight to the operating room. He was in a coma for 221 days. When he woke up, he was no longer the same: irreversible brain injuries left him in a vegetative state, then in a wheelchair, cared for day and night by his mother, Nieves. Eleven years like that. Eleven years in which boxing, late but surely, learned his name in a different way: the World Boxing Council created the Prichard Colón rule, which expressly prohibits the blows that destroyed him. In 2021, it named him honorary world champion and gave him a belt he could never lift with his hands.
This Thursday, at 33 years old, Prichard Colón died. His father wrote it with a broken voice: “I regret to inform you of the departure of my son Prichard from this earthly world. He is now in a better world”. The CMB bid him farewell as what he always was: “A true warrior whose strength, courage, and fighting spirit inspired people around the world”.
Rest, champion. No one can hurt you anymore.