Prichard Colon: The Unyielding Journey of a Boxer’s Recovery
Prichard Colon’s full name is Prichard Colon Melendez who was born in 1992 in Florida. He is an ex professional boxer. He moved to Puerto Rico in 2002 to learn boxing to represent the island in international competitions.
In his achievements, a WBC World Champion, a gold medalist in 64 kg category in American Youth Championship, and 16 wins out of 17 fights are included. He got hit by an experienced fighter Terrel Williams in 2015. Later, he remained in a coma for 221 days and began a process of recovery.
Colon’s Profile
| Full name | Prichard Colón Meléndez |
| Nickname | Digget |
| Mother name | Nieves Colón |
| Father name | Richard Colon |
| Born | September 19, 1992 (age 32) |
| Birth Place | Maitland, Florida, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Total Fights | 17 |
| Wins | 16 (13 wins on knockout) |
| Losses | 1 (abandoned fight) |
Prichard Colon’s Biography
Colon’s mother’s name is Nieves who is a retired waitress and his father Richarda a retired serviceman. He is an ex boxer playing in international competitions. Since he was just 10 went to learn boxing to compete with other boxers and win titles. He has done business administration at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan. Later, he turned into a professional boxer in 2012 after the hard work of 10 years.
He entered the boxing world when he was 20 years old. He got a nickname “Digget” because of his 6ft height. He took part in 17 battles and won 16 out of it which is an amazing achievement. His life changing fight happened in 2015 with Terrel Williams who knocked him over.
During a fight Prichard was hit in the back of the head and after that he went to his dressing room and collapsed. He went into a coma and remained in that condition for 221 days. He was unable to speak then and now uses a computer to talk after physiotherapy treatments.
Prichard Colon’s Amateur and Professional Career
Colon moved to Puerto Rico to learn boxing. He learned there and gained fame also earned a nickname “Digget”. In his amateur career he won 5 national championships which became the reason for his fame. He won 141 pound and 152 pound divisions to win the title. Moreover, he is a gold medalist in the American Youth Championship in the 64 kg category in 2010.
He took part in the Brazil Pre- Olympics and won it and moved to the next round happening in London where he lost in the third round. During his amateur career he took part in 17 fights and won all those. He decided to end his successful amateur career in 2012 to start a professional career.
He started his professional career in 2013 against a fight with Xavier La Salle and Colon won it in the first round. He was so consistent that he took part in 5 battles in 2013 and 7 in 2014. He fought with Vivian Harris and knocked him in the fourth round.
His fight that ended his career happened on September 9, 2015 against Terrel Williams in Virginia. Another boxer, Andre Dirrell was about to be part of this fight but due to medical reasons he could not participate. Colon fought that battle which proved to be his last battle.
What happened to Prichard Colon?
After a few months of victory against Harris, with a fight with Terrel Williams his life got completely changed after facing bleeding to the brain. Colon was a professional boxer who remained undefeated in all 16 fights and even in his light fight too.
Colon and Williams fought for 9 rounds in which Colon was ahead after winning 5 rounds. Throughout the match Colon complained about the illegal rabbit punches that William was hitting him. Joe Cooper was the referee of that match who replied to Colon to be careful about the punches instead of taking any action against Williams.
Colon was reporting to the doctor, Richard Ashby, during the rounds about feeling dizzy but he allowed him to continue the fight. After getting frustrated with the illegal punches, Colon hit Willims below the belt and got a penalty of 2 points. After facing multiple rabbit blows, Colon was knocked down in the ninth round. He got disqualified when his corner removed gloves considering he cannot continue more.
After that, Colon was taken to the dressing room where he fell down and was taken to the hospital emergency. It was diagnosed there that he had left-sided subdural hematoma. Then, hemicraniectomy was performed as an emergency treatment which led the boxer to a state of coma. Later, he was shifted to Fairfax Hospital in Virginia and then Shepherd Center in Atlanta. Eventually, he was released and transferred to Florida where his mother took care of him.
Progress of Colon after Injury
After Colon’s head injury his parents filed a lawsuit against doctors and the promoters. This lawsuit was more than $50 million and had not settled so far. In Colon’s parents’ perspective it will never get settled.
In 2017, during an interview Colon’s opponent of the fight Terell Williams wished him good health recovery. Moreover, he asserted that no boxer wants to feel the same as Colon also said that all the boxing community are like brothers to each other.
Colon’s mother shares his progress on YouTube for all the concerned fans. In 2018, she posted a video of Colon taking therapy and responding to any talk. Moreover, she added that Colon is learning to communicate using a computer. His speech could not recover so far.
On Colon’s 31st birthday, on September 20, 2023 her mother posted a video of a cake celebrating his birthday. Colon was seen smiling over his cake and got a gift from Daddy Yankee, a famous rapper. While in a video he was seen brushing his teeth.
Investigation on Colon’s Injury
This match was questionable from the start because both Colon and William were not supposed to fight this battle. Moreover, Colon did not get enough time to get prepared for this fight. After getting brutal blows, Colon could not survive and was knocked down.
This matter was investigated by Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and they did not find anything wrong in it. Moreover, neither anyone including the World Boxing Championship (WBC) nor the promoters were held responsible for this matter.
In these types of cases, one who does these brutal attacks to the opponents and takes them to bed must pay the expenses of cure. In Colon’s case nothing happened and they had to contact GoFundMe for the ex boxer’s treatment.
Also Read: Cherneka Johnson: Defying Conventions And Dominating
Conclusion
To conclude, Colon remained undefeated in all his career fights including the last knocked out fight. It’s been 9 years till the threatening incident happened with Colon, he could not recover through it fully. He remained in a coma for 221 days and still has not been able to talk or move without any support. Moreover, he did not get any justice or even expenses for recovery. Although he is on the journey of recovery and working on the rule of not quitting, fans are concerned to see him back on his feet.
