Prichard Colón had already warned.
It wasn’t after the fight. It wasn’t when he was in the locker room. It wasn’t when he had already lost consciousness.
It happened in the middle of the fight.
The Puerto Rican, then one of boxing’s great prospects, signaled to the referee that he was receiving blows to the back of the head. So-called rabbit punches are prohibited because of the danger they pose. The referee Joe Cooper even warned Terrel Williams about those blows. But the fight continued.
On that October 17, 2015, Colón was 23 years old and had a professional record of 16-0. Eleven years later, this Thursday, his father confirmed his death at the age of 33. His family has not made a specific medical cause of death public for now, although his death comes after more than a decade of severe neurological aftereffects resulting from that fight.
And his death once again brings the spotlight to an uncomfortable question: At what point should that fight have been stopped?
The first warning
Colón had come into the fight against Williams undefeated. During the early rounds, however, he began taking blows to an area that should not have been targeted: the back of the head.
The situation reached such a point that the referee had to intervene. According to the documents from the subsequent legal proceedings, Cooper warned Williams to stop hitting Colón in the back of the head.
It was no minor matter. Blows to that area, known as rabbit punches, are prohibited precisely because of the risk of causing serious injuries. But the fight went on.
Seventh round: the clearest sign
The moment that, over the years, has gained the greatest significance came in the seventh round. Williams once again landed an illegal punch and Colón went down. The Puerto Rican put his hands on the back of his head. Something was not right.
After the episode he was examined by the ringside physician, Richard Ashby. The subsequent lawsuit filed by Colón’s parents claimed that the boxer had said he felt pain in the back of his head and dizziness. It also accused the doctor of not having taken the necessary measures and of allowing the fight to continue. And it continued.
That is one of the points that has raised the most questions about that night: Colón had received illegal blows, had warned about them, had fallen, and had then shown symptoms. Even so, he returned to his corner to keep boxing.
It cannot be claimed that stopping the fight at that moment would necessarily have prevented the subsequent injury. But there was already a warning sign that years later would become central in his family’s legal battle.
Williams knocked Colón down twice in the 9th Round. The fight was out of control and the Puerto Rican was no longer the same boxer who had started that night.
After this round, his corner began taking off his gloves thinking the fight was over. There was still one round left. Unable to put them back on in time, Colón ended up being disqualified. Officially, he had lost the fight.
From the ring to the hospital
Colón left the ring with assistance and shortly afterward began to feel unwell. Then came the vomiting and the collapse. He was taken to a hospital, where doctors detected a severe brain injury and he had to undergo emergency surgery.
Then came 221 days in a coma. And then, a completely different life. The boxer who had arrived that night with a 16-0 record was left with severe neurological aftereffects and needed permanent care during the following years.
His career had ended at 23. His battle, however, was only just beginning.
And this is where the question arises that should always be above the result: Who decides when a boxer can no longer continue?
An investigation with no culprits
The case was investigated by the Virginia authorities. But that investigation did not end up identifying an individual responsible for what happened.
The fight had left images that were hard to forget and a devastating injury. However, from the standpoint of that investigation, no conduct was established that would allow those involved to be sanctioned.
The truth is that Prichard Colón never got back into a ring.
Nor could he return to the life he imagined when he arrived undefeated in Fairfax that October 17.
He died this Thursday at the age of 33.
His death does not allow that fight to be rewritten. Nor does it allow us to say for certain what would have happened if the referee, the doctor, or anyone else had made a different decision.
But it does compel us to look again at the images and documents from that night.
Because Prichard Colón gave warning before he collapsed.
And perhaps that is the question that has survived that fight the longest: How many warning signs does it take to stop a fight before it is too late?
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