Prichard Colón
Prichard Colón Meléndez is an American-Puerto Rican former professional boxer and gold medal winner at the 2010 Panamerican Youth Championship in the category.
Early years and amateur career
Prichard Colón was born in Maitland, Florida. His parents are Nieves and Richard Colón, a retired serviceman. 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.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.
During his amateur career, Colón gained fame for winning 5 national championships in both the 141 and 152 pound divisions. He also won the gold medal at the 2010 Panamerican Youth Championship in the 64 kg category. 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 170–15 record.
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. 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, Ontario, Canada, and ended with Colón knocking out Harris in the fourth round.On October 17, 2015, Colón was slated to fight Terrell 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. The fight occurred just one month after Colón's last fight against Vivian Harris.
Colón fought Williams for nine rounds, during which both fighters were penalized. Colón was penalized for a low blow, while Williams was penalized for hitting Colón in the back of the head. In the ninth round, Williams knocked Colón down twice, and Colón didn't return for the tenth round. 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.
Colón was treated for several weeks at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia, but was eventually transferred to Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia. After being in coma for 221 days, since his fight against Terrell Williams, Colón was moved from the hospital to his mother's home in Orlando, Florida. As of April 2017, Colón had remained in a persistent vegetative state.
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.
Professional boxing record
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 17 | Loss | 16–1 |  Terrel Williams | DQ | 9 | Oct 17, 2015 | EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia, U.S. | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Vivian Harris | KO | 4, 1:03 | Sep 11, 2015 |  Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Michael Finney | TKO | 2 | Aug 1, 2015 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Daniel Calzada | TKO | Apr 11, 2015 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | ||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Héctor Muñoz | UD | Jan 31, 2015 | 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 |  Christopher Degollado | UD | Sep 11, 2014 | Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | ||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Lenwood Dozier | UD | Aug 9, 2014 | Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | ||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 |  Carlos García Hernández | TKO | Jun 19, 2014 | Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico | ||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Javier García | TKO | Apr 28, 2014 | Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico | ||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Shad Howard | TKO | Mar 15, 2014 | Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico | ||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 |  José Vidal Soto | TKO | Jan 25, 2014 | Gimnasio Manuel Toribio, Jacagua | ||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Víctor Moya | TKO | Jan 19, 2014 | Arena del Masacre, Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic | ||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Jonathan García | RTD | Dec 21, 2013 | Coliseo Cosme Beitía Salamo, Cataño, Puerto Rico | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Juan Ramón Santos | TKO | Dec 7, 2013 | Coliseo Pedro Julio Nolasco, La Romana, Dominican Republic | ||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jorge Burgos | TKO | Nov 9, 2013 | Coliseo Pedro Julio Nolasco, La Romana, Dominican Republic | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Patrick Thomas | TKO | Mar 23, 2013 | Bahia Shrine Temple, Orlando, Florida, U.S. | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Xavier Lasalle | KO | Feb 23, 2013 | Coliseo Cosme Beitía Salamo, Cataño, Puerto Rico |