Boxer Patrick Day Dies of Brain Injuries Days After Vicious KO
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During his Saturday night fight against 2016 U.S. Olympian, Charles Conwell, Junior middleweight Patrick Day was knocked down three separate times—once in the fourth round, again in the eighth, and once more in the tenth.
It was the third and final knockdown in the tenth round that prompted referee Celestino Ruiz to stop the fight with 1 minute, 46 seconds left after the back of Day’s head hit the canvas violently. Patrick Day was removed from the ring on a stretcher.
Day was immediately placed into the back of an ambulance and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Before undergoing emergency brain surgery, Day experienced a seizure and soon after, fell into a coma. Unfortunately, he never regained consciousness.
His parents, along with other family members, friends, and trainer Joe Higgins, were present as the life support machines were unplugged. On Wednesday, Patrick Day was pronounced dead at the age of 27.
A few days before Patrick Day passed away, his opponent, Charles Conwell posted a heartfelt letter on social media. Below is a portion of what he wrote:
“I never meant for this to happen to you,” Conwell posted on Twitter. “All I ever wanted to do was win. If I could take it all back I would. No one deserves for this to happen to them. I replay the fight over and over in my head thinking what if this never happened and why did it happen to you.
The post continues, “I can’t stop thinking about it myself. I prayed for you so many times and shedded so many tears because I couldn’t even imagine how my family and friends would feel. I see you everywhere I go and all I hear is wonderful things about you.”
Promoter Lou DiBella had nothing but positive things to say about Day and his impact on those in the community.
“During his short life, boxing allowed Patrick to impact many communities, both big and small,” DiBella said. “In his hometown of Freeport, Long Island, he was a beacon of light and the star pupil at the Freeport PAL. He was a fixture in the boxing community throughout New York City.”
DiBella also praised Day for his commitment to higher education and good values. “He was… a dedicated college student, having earned an associate’s degree in food and nutrition from Nassau Community College and… a bachelor’s degree in health and wellness from Kaplan University,” DiBella commented.
“He came from a good family, he was smart, educated, had good values and had other avenues available to him to earn a living. [But] boxing is what Pat loved to do. It’s how he inspired people and it was something that made him feel alive.”
Day’s death on Wednesday was the third incident in which a boxer has died due to injuries sustained during a match. The 28-year-old Russian light welterweight, Maxim Dadashev passed away on July 23 from complications after his fight against Puerto Rican contender Subriel Matias.
Just two days later, Argentinian fighter Hugo Alfredo Santillan died after collapsing to the canvas after his fight was over. DiBella, along with other boxing promoters and personnel want to use Day’s death to determine how to make the sport of boxing much safer.