Prichard Colon illustrates better than anyone the dangerousness of combat sports. The Puerto Rican boxer died this Thursday, at the age of 33, following the serious after-effects of a fight that completely changed his life in 2015.
At the time, Prichard Colon was considered a great hope in world boxing. The statistics bear this out: he has never lost in 16 professional fights. On October 17, 2015, the Puerto Rican entered the ring for the 17th time. He faces American Terrel Williams in Fairfax, Virginia.
During this fight, Terrel Williams delivered several violent blows to the back of Prichard Colon’s head. The Puerto Rican falls to the ground holding his head. He gave up a few rounds later. Feeling dizzy and vomiting, he was taken to hospital, where a cerebral hemorrhage was detected.
Partial paralysis and cognitive impairment
Under emergency surgery then placed in a coma for 221 days, Prichard Colon never regained all of his faculties, his brain having been seriously damaged. He had been fighting for more than ten years with very serious after-effects. He suffered from partial paralysis, significant cognitive impairment and aphasia.
On social networks, videos of his fight and its after-effects had gone viral, illustrating how quickly a life can change. Even more so in combat sports.
