Puerto Rican welterweight Prichard Colon remains in a coma after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a fight Oct. 17, but he has shown some signs of improvement, his family and promoter said.
"Prichard is breathing without machines!! The Glory of God!! I just need you to wake up," Colon's family posted on the fighter's Facebook page.
The 23-year-old Colon (16-1, 13 KOs) suffered bleeding on the brain and underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure inside his skull shortly after a ninth-round disqualification loss to Terrel Williams (15-0, 12 KOs), of Los Angeles, on an NBC-televised Premier Boxing Champions card at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia.
"He no longer needs a ventilator, and the doctors have removed the pressure monitors on the brain, which is a very good sign," promoter Lou DiBella, who put on the card on behalf of the PBC, told ESPN.com on Monday. "Physically, according to the family, Prichard looks 1,000 percent better than he did, and he's showing signs of moving his extremities. But he's not out of the coma. He's not awake. But that said, the family is far more optimistic and hopeful than it was. The doctors feel like Prichard's recovery is as good as can be expected at this point."
DiBella, who said he is in touch with Colon's family several times a day, said the doctors removed the pressure sensors because they think the pressure on Colon's brain "has been reduced enough that it is no longer a threat to his life," even though there are other issues.
Colon took some brutal, illegal punches behind the head, including a harsh knockdown on a shot behind the head late in the ninth round, on which referee Joe Cooper did not call a foul. Cooper did deduct a point from Williams for rabbit punching in the seventh round, but he allowed Williams to hit Colon behind the head at other points of the fight without any warning or point deduction, even though Colon complained about the fouls.
Colon got to his feet after the knockdown, the second of the ninth round, and returned to his corner, where his trainers began to cut off his gloves, apparently believing the scheduled 10-round bout had come to an end. When they could not get Colon's gloves back on in time, Cooper disqualified Colon.
Colon walked to the dressing room under his own power but soon became dizzy, vomited and passed out, at which point he was rushed to Inova Fairfax Hospital.
After surgery, Colon's family, who are with him, did not want to release details of his condition until posting that he began breathing on his own Friday.
"From the family's standpoint, they are very, very grateful for the outpouring of support, love and prayers and positive thoughts people have been sending them," DiBella said. "It's made a big difference to the family. They are people of faith, and they believe all of it is helping Prichard."