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Boxer dies aged 33 years after brain injury suffered in the ring

A former professional boxer has died at the age of 33, a decade after suffering a brain injury in the ring that left him in a coma for months and unable to speak

[Prichard Colon is taken for a walk by his father Richard Colon around the neighbourhood in Winter Park]

Boxer Prichard Colon spent a decade in a permanent vegetative state(Image: The Washington Post, The Washington Post via Getty Images)

An honorary WBC world champion has died aged 33 after years in a permanent vegetative state because of a brain haemorrhage diagnosed after being hospitalised following what proved to be his final professional fight.

Prichard Colon has received tributes from across the sport, including the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Organisation. A light welterweight gold medallist at the Pan American Youth Championship in 2010, the Puerto Rican boxer went 11-9 during his two-year-long amateur career.

Colon, however, won his first 16 professional fights, 13 by knockout. The 17th bout proved to be his last, though.

[Prichard Colon is attended to in his corner]

Boxer Prichard Colon received attention in his corner throughout his final fight(Image: Patrick Smith, Getty Images)

His opponent, Terrel Williams, was penalised a point during the seventh round of their bout for rabbit punching after flooring the Puerto Rican boxer and characterised it as a "rough-and-tough fight" afterwards. Colon himself had earlier been docked two points for a low blow in the fifth round.

In the changing room afterward, he was sick before collapsing. Paramedics subsequently rushed him to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia.

Medical staff carried out an emergency hemicraniectomy after diagnosing Colon with a subdural haematoma. He remained unconscious for 221 days following brain surgery and stayed in a permanent vegetative state until his death.

[Prichard Colon holds the back of his head after taking a punch from Terrel Williams]

Boxer Prichard Colon held the back of his head throughout the fight with Terrel Williams(Image: Patrick Smith, Getty Images)

Writing on Wednesday, his father said: "Good morning, my people. I regret to inform you of the departure of my son, Prichard, from this earthly world. Now he is in a better world.

"I did everything possible to fulfil his wish, his dream of bringing him on vacation to Puerto Rico as he so desired, but it couldn't be done." Born in Florida, Colon relocated to the Caribbean island nation aged 10.

He remained at Fairfax Hospital for several weeks before being moved to the Shepherd Centre in Atlanta, Georgia. Colon was later discharged and went to live with his mother, Nieve, in Orlando, Florida.

[Nieves Melendez, left, and Richard Colon tend to their son, former professional boxer Prichard Colon, while he lies in a vegetative state in his bedroom at his family home]

Colon's mother, Nieves Melendez, and father, Richard, attend to their son(Image: The Washington Post, The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Richard, his father, concluded: "Thank you for so many years of love and prayers. As much as you can, please keep us in your prayers."

The WBC said in a statement: "With a heavy heart and immense sadness enveloping the entire international boxing community, the World Boxing Council and its president, Mauricio Sulaiman, mourn the passing of former boxer and icon of bravery, Prichard Colon Melendez.

"Today is a day of mourning for Puerto Rico, for the WBC family, and above all, for the Colon family, whose unconditional love was the pillar of one of the most moving and outstandingly brave battles for life the world has ever witnessed."

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