Boxer Patrick Day has died of a brain injury four days after being knocked out in his defeat against Charles Conwell.
The 27-year-old American was treated on the canvas at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena on Saturday night before being carried out on a stretcher and then placed in a coma from which he never woke up.
Promoter Lou DiBella announced Day had died on Wednesday night surrounded by his family, close friends and members of his boxing team.
DiBella praised Day’s ‘kindness, positivity and generosity of spirit’, adding: ‘On behalf of Patrick’s family, team, and those closest to him, we are grateful for the prayers, expressions of support and outpouring of love for Pat that have been so obvious since his injury.’
Day is the fourth boxer to die after competing in a professional fight in 2019.
Russian Maxim Dadashev and Hugo Alfredo Santillan from Argentina died in July, while Bulgarian Boris Stanchov passed away following a fight in September.
Conwell revealed his own anguish, saying he ‘never meant for this to happen’ and considered giving up boxing.
In a heartrending Instagram post penned before Day passed away, he wrote: ‘If I could take it all back, I would. No one deserves 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.
‘I can’t stop thinking about it myself. I prayed for you so many times and shed so many tears because I couldn’t even imagine how my family and friends would feel.
‘I see you everywhere you go and all I hear is wonderful things about you. I thought about quitting boxing but I know that’s not what you would want.’
Day made his first impressions on the boxing world as a amateur in 2012, when he won two Nationals titles, the New York Golden Gloves tournament and became an Olympic Team alternate athlete.
After overcoming some early struggles he became the WBC Continental Americas champion in 2017 and the IBF Intercontinental champion in 2019.
In June 2019, he was rated in the top-10 by both the WBC and IBF.
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