Heartbreaking moment boxer watches his last fight and the punch that left him paralyzed
Boxing is a highly regulated sport and there are strict rules to follow both inside and outside of the ring.
But one boxing moment, which changed the course of a man’s life forever, saw many mistakes left unchecked.
Prichard Colon’s story is a sad one indeed, and could be considered a cautionary tale for referees and boxers alike.
It all began in 2015, when the Puerto Rican pro boxer entered the ring with all-American Terrel Williams on 17 October.
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It began as a steady match, with both parties throwing punches and dancing away from being caught.
But it was when Williams began landing a flurry of punches to the back of Colon’s head, that it would all go wrong.
Not only did the ref fail to stop the punches, but he also only deducted one point in a round which left Colon knocked down to the ground due to the force.
Williams continued to get in a punch to his opponent’s nape at any chance he could, and it ended in Colon being paralysed for life.
Recently, a video was shared to X, formerly Twitter of Colon re-watching the fight that left him unable to walk or talk again and the comments were harrowing.
One person wrote: “Guy kept going for the back of the neck. He knew what he was doing. Treacherous.”
Another commented: “imagine being so desperate to win that you would paralyze someone for fame and money, sad..”
Another reprimanded the ref for his role in the incident: “It's heartbreaking to watch the original fight and see how that referee was negligent and unethical and is still working. That was his only job as a referee.”
In the ninth round, it was actually Colon who got disqualified, after his corner took off his gloves, mistakenly believing the round was over - which gave Williams the title by default.
However, by that point, Colon was already complaining of feeling dizzy and began to throw up when he left the ring.
He was then rushed to the Inova Fairfax Hospital where he was placed in a coma for 200 days and suffered internal bleeding in his brain.
When he woke up, all he could do was breathe on his own and blink and had no way of communicating to his family or even moving.
Since then, Colon has made some progress with his condition.
We’re nearly a decade on from his initial vegetative state and Colon’s family often updates via social media on the 29-year-old’s condition.
He can now use his electric wheelchair, stand on his own for short periods of time and communicate via his eyes.
He can even move his hands, albeit with some assistance.
However, Williams has come out to express his remorse over what he did to Colon.
He said in 2018: “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. I would never intentionally harm someone like that."
Britt Jones