Eight years on from the tragic bout which changed his life forever, former boxer Prichard Colon has vowed to keep fighting.
Back in 2015 Colon, competing as a super-middleweight at the time, suffered a bleed on the brain after taking repeated blows to the back of the head during a contest with America’s Terrel Williams in Virginia.
After vomiting and collapsing in the dressing room after his defeat, the Puerto Rican was rushed to hospital before spending 221 days in a coma. The fight with Williams had seen part of his skull collapse as a result of the repeated rabbit punches.
Since emerging from the coma, Colon has been left in a vegetative state with life-altering injuries. He is now being looked after by his mother in Orlando, Florida.
His recovery is also being handled by specialists at Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in Orange Park.
Ex-boxer Prichard Colon says he won’t give up eight years after suffering life-changing injuries
Colon suffered a bleed on the brain during a 2015 contest against America’s Terrel Williams
After spending 221 days in a coma, the Puerto Rican has been in a vegetative state since emerging from it
Almost eight years on from that tragic night in Virginia, Colon is refusing to throw in the towel in spite of the debilitating injuries he has been left with.
In the most recent update on his Facebook profile, Colon attempts to speak with his mother and even raises a smile in a moving video.
The post is captioned: ‘I will not give up’.
In other clips, the ex-fighter can be seen attending a truck rally with his family, while also appearing to take a positive step in being able to brush his own teeth.
His mother also recently shared a video of her son on his 31st birthday where she gave him a cupcake with a candle on it.
Colon’s story is one of the most tragic in boxing history, with former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder breaking down in tears while discussing it last year.
‘We’ve seen what happens, look at Colon. How he got hit, Richard Collon, correct,’ Wilder said.
But his family share several positive updates to his Facebook page, including a clip of the former fighter brushing his own teeth
‘This man didn’t have no kids… they don’t understand. Y’all don’t f****** understand what we go through, man.
‘And I don’t even know him like that, but I will always be an advocate for us. Because this man will never know what it’s like to be somebody’s father. And that’s one of the most precious things in the world, to be somebody’s father. But he will never be nobody’s father, man.
‘Because he got in the ring to support his family but now, his family got to take care of him for the rest of his life.’