
Puerto Rican boxer Prichard Colon died on August 13 at age 33, nearly 11 years after suffering severe brain damage in a 2015 light-middleweight fight against Terrel Williams in Virginia. Colon underwent…
Puerto Rican boxer Prichard Colon died on August 13 at age 33, nearly 11 years after suffering severe brain damage in a 2015 light-middleweight fight against Terrel Williams in Virginia. Colon underwent emergency surgery for a brain bleed after Williams landed illegal punches behind his head. He spent 211 days in a coma and remained in a vegetative state until his death.

Following Colon’s death, users targeted an unverified Instagram account allegedly belonging to Williams with hate comments. Williams was investigated by Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation but was cleared in 2018. He was not named in the $50 million lawsuit Colon’s parents filed against the ringside doctor and fight promoters. Williams has expressed sorrow but never formally apologised or accepted blame.

The online mob hunting an unverified Instagram account is a lazy substitute for grappling with a tragedy that has no clear villain. Boxing’s regulatory failures, not any one fighter, allowed illegal blows to go unchecked until it was too late. The Virginia investigation found no single person to blame; the family’s $50 million lawsuit named the doctor and promoters, not Williams. Before pointing fingers at a man who has lived with this for 11 years, ask why the sport’s safety protocols still let fighters absorb repeated fouls without intervention.
Sources (3): hindustantimes.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, sportstar.thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.