A former contender in the pro boxing ranks whose career ended in a disputed DQ loss in a 2015 match in Northern Virginia that left him in a vegetative state died on Thursday.
Prichard Colon, 33, a native of Florida who relocated to Puerto Rico to train as an amateur boxer, was 16-0 as a pro going into the fight with Terrel Williams at EagleBank Arena on the campus of George Mason University on Oct. 17, 2015.
As the match progressed, Colon complained to his corner about repeated punches to the back of the head, which are illegal – Williams was docked a point on the scorecards for the illegal blows by the referee, Joe Cooper, who told Colon to “take care of it” himself.
It was reported after the fight that Colon spoke to the ringside doctor, Richard Ashby, between rounds late in the fight about feeling dizzy from the rabbit punches, but he was allowed to continue – Ashby would later say that he believed Colon would “shake it off.”
Colon was knocked down – for the first time in his career – in the ninth round, and was disqualified when his corner removed his gloves, believing in the confusion that the ninth was the final round of the fight.
Colon collapsed in the dressing room, and was rushed to Inova Fairfax Hospital for emergency treatment, which led to the diagnosis that he had suffered a 1.5-cm subdural hematoma.
He went into a coma, and never would recover.
Colon’s family filed a $50 million lawsuit in 2017 against Ashby and the fight’s promoters, HeadBangers Promotions and DiBella Entertainment; the suit, nine years in, has yet to be resolved.
Williams, a Los Angeles native, who was 14-0 as a pro going into the bout with Colon in 2015, only fought four more times afterward – finishing with a career record of 18-1.
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