Prichard Colón

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Colón and the second or maternal family name is Meléndez.
Prichard Colón
Statistics
Real namePrichard Colón Meléndez
Nickname(s)Digget
Weight(s)Super welterweight
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Reach74 in (188 cm)
NationalityAmerican
Born (1992-09-19) September 19, 1992 (age 29)
Maitland, Florida, U.S.
Boxing record
Total fights17
Wins16
Wins by KO13

Prichard Colón Meléndez (born September 19, 1992) is an American boxer, honorary WBC World Champion, and gold medal winner at the 2010 Panamerican Youth Championship in the 64 kg (141 pounds) category.[1]

Early years and amateur career[]

Prichard Colón was born in Maitland, Florida. His parents are Nieves and Richard Colón, a retired waitress.[2][3] At the age of 10, his family decided to move to Puerto Rico, so Prichard could represent the island in competitions. The family settled in the rural town of Orocovis, Puerto Rico.[4]

Colón started his career at the Albergue Olímpico in Salinas, Puerto Rico. It was there that he earned the nickname of "Digget", which comes from the word "digger" in relation to his height. After graduating high school, Colón started studying Business Administration at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[3]

During his amateur career, Colón gained fame for winning 5 national championships in both the 141 and 152 pound divisions.[5][6] He also won the gold medal at the 2010 Pan American Youth Championship in the 64 kg category.[7] He fought at the Brazil Pre-Olympics to win a pass to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but lost to a Venezuelan fighter in the third round.

In 2012, Colón decided to become a professional fighter. He ended his amateur career with a record of 170–15.[8]

Professional career[]

Colón made his professional debut on February 23, 2013. His first Fight was against Xavier La Salle at the Cosme Beitía Salamo Coliseum in Cataño, Puerto Rico. Colón knocked out LaSalle in the first round. Colón distinguished himself for his restless schedule. He fought five times in 2013 and 7 times in 2014.[9] His most notable fight came on September 9, 2015 when he fought against Vivian Harris, a more experienced fighter. The fight was held at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto and ended with Colón knocking out Harris in the fourth round.[5][10]

On October 17, 2015, Colón was slated to fight Terrel Williams in an undercard fight at the EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. The fight wasn't originally part of the schedule, but was added when Andre Dirrell stepped out from his fight with Blake Caparello for medical reasons.[11] The fight occurred just one month after Colón's last fight against Vivian Harris.[9]

Brain Injury[]

Colón and Williams fought for nine rounds, in the first five rounds of which Colón appeared to be ahead. Throughout the match, Williams repeatedly punched Colón in the back of the head illegally. Colón informed the referee of the illegal punches to the back of his head, to which the referee replied "You take care of it." Colón hit Williams with a low blow, for which Colón was penalized 2 points. After multiple illegal blows, Colón was knocked down for the first time in his professional career during the ninth round. Colón spoke to the ringside doctor between the rounds and stated he felt dizzy, but felt he could go on.[12] The ringside doctor, Richard Ashby, cleared Colón and allowed the fight to continue. Colón was disqualified after the ninth round, when his corner mistakenly removed his gloves thinking it was the end of the fight.[13] Colón's corner claimed he was incoherent and experiencing dizziness. After the fight, Colón was vomiting and was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with brain bleeding. As a result, Colón went into a coma for 221 days.[14]

Colón was treated for several weeks at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia, but was eventually transferred to Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia.[15][16] Colón was moved from the hospital to his mother's home in Orlando, Florida.[17] As of April 2017, Colón had remained in a persistent vegetative state.[18]

In 2017, the parents of Prichard Colón filed a lawsuit seeking damages in more than $50 million.[19] The lawsuit has not yet been settled, though Prichard Colón's mother, Niéves Colón, believes it may never be settled.[20]

In a September 2017 interview, while discussing his role in Colón’s injury, Williams said “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.”[21] Williams is now mostly known for his role in the fight, as opposed to his career.[22]

In July 2018, Colón's mother posted a video of Colón on her Facebook account in which he can be seen taking physical therapy and responding to verbal commands. She also stated that he was learning how to communicate through a computer.[23] She continues to upload videos of Colón's progress on YouTube.

Professional boxing record[]

Professional record summary
17 fights 16 wins 1 loss
By knockout 13 0
By decision 3 0
By disqualification 0 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
17 Loss 16–1 United States Terrel Williams DQ 9 (10), 0:17 Oct 17, 2015 United States EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
16 Win 16–0 United States Vivian Harris KO 4 (6), 1:03 Sep 11, 2015 Canada Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
15 Win 15–0 United States Michael Finney TKO 2 Aug 1, 2015 United States Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
14 Win 14–0 United States Daniel Calzada TKO Apr 11, 2015 United States Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
13 Win 13–0 United States Héctor Muñoz UD Jan 31, 2015 United States 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
12 Win 12–0 Mexico Christopher Degollado UD Sep 11, 2014 United States Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
11 Win 11–0 United States Lenwood Dozier UD Aug 9, 2014 United States Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Puerto Rico Carlos García Hernández TKO Jun 19, 2014 Puerto Rico Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
9 Win 9–0 Puerto Rico Javier García TKO Apr 28, 2014 Puerto Rico Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
8 Win 8–0 United States Shad Howard TKO Mar 15, 2014 Puerto Rico Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
7 Win 7–0 Dominican Republic José Vidal Soto TKO Jan 25, 2014 Gimnasio Manuel Toribio, Jacagua
6 Win 6–0 Dominican Republic Víctor Moya TKO Jan 19, 2014 Dominican Republic Arena del Masacre, Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic
5 Win 5–0 Puerto Rico Jonathan García RTD Dec 21, 2013 Puerto Rico Coliseo Cosme Beitía Salamo, Cataño, Puerto Rico
4 Win 4–0 Dominican Republic Juan Ramón Santos TKO Dec 7, 2013 Dominican Republic Coliseo Pedro Julio Nolasco, La Romana, Dominican Republic
3 Win 3–0 Dominican Republic Jorge Burgos TKO Nov 9, 2013 Dominican Republic Coliseo Pedro Julio Nolasco, La Romana, Dominican Republic
2 Win 2–0 United States Patrick Thomas TKO Mar 23, 2013 United States Bahia Shrine Temple, Orlando, Florida, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 Puerto Rico Xavier Lasalle KO Feb 23, 2013 Puerto Rico Coliseo Cosme Beitía Salamo, Cataño, Puerto Rico

References[]

  1. ^ "Panamerican Youth Championships - Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic - February 21-25 2010".
  2. ^ Sánchez Fournier, José (October 23, 2015). "Prichard Colón muestra señales de mejoría". El Nuevo Día. Retrieved October 23, 2015. (in Spanish)
  3. ^ a b Gaudier, Jonathan (June 11, 2012). "El orocoveño Prichard "Digget" Colón, se prepara para dar el salto al profesionalismo". PRBoxea.com. Retrieved October 20, 2015. (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Rivera Giusti, Carlos (April 18, 2015). "Prichard "Digget" Colón: Boricua por decisión unánime". NotiCel. Retrieved October 23, 2015. (in Spanish)
  5. ^ a b Sloan, Mike (September 9, 2015). "Boxing: Prichard Colon to Face Vivian Harris in PBC on Spike Undercard". SherDog.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  6. ^ "Regresa en gran cartelera el prospecto Prichard Colón". Mr. Boxing. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015. (in Spanish)
  7. ^ "Panamerican Youth Championships - Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic - February 21-25 2010".
  8. ^ Lardies, Jesse Ian (March 15, 2013). "The Boxing Tribune interviews former amateur standout, Prichard Colon". The Boxing Tribune. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Bracelin, Jason (October 6, 2015). "Hot prospect Prichard Colon faces undefeated Terrel Williams on October 17". PremierBoxingChampions. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  10. ^ Burton, Ryan (September 20, 2015). "Prichard Colon Reflects on his Brutal KO of Vivian Harris". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  11. ^ "Prichard Colon vs. Terrel Williams replaces Dirrell-Caparello on 10/17". Boxing News 24. October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  12. ^ "A Boxing Tragedy: The Prichard Colon Case | Sports Litigation Alert". Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  13. ^ Scavone, Jason. "Terrel Williams upends Prichard Colon in odd disqualification". PBC Boxing. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  14. ^ Scavone, Jason (October 17, 2015). "Terrel Williams upends Prichard Colon in odd disqualification". PremierBoxingChampions. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  15. ^ Narváez, Carlos (November 3, 2015). "Trasladarán a Prichard Colón a un centro de rehabilitación en Atlanta". ESPN. Retrieved November 6, 2015. (in Spanish)
  16. ^ Sánchez Fournier, José A. (November 26, 2015). "Prichard Colón sigue su batalla". El Nuevo Día. Retrieved November 26, 2015. (in Spanish)
  17. ^ Sánchez Fournier, José A. (May 26, 2016). "Dan de alta a Prichard Colón". El Nuevo Día. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  18. ^ Weinbaum, William (April 15, 2017). "Shattered dreams". ESPN. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  19. ^ "Ex-boxer Colon's parents seek more than $50M". ESPN.com. 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  20. ^ "For injured boxer Prichard Colón, a fight that never ends". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  21. ^ "Two years later, Terrel Williams still thinks about Prichard Colon every day". 18 September 2018.
  22. ^ "Welterweight relentlessly abused six years on from Prichard Colon tragedy". 5 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Prichard sigue mejorando: va hasta de shopping". Primera Hora (in Spanish). July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.

External links[]

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