Boxer Patrick Day Dies Just Four Days After Being Knocked Out In Bout

by Brandon GitteOctober 18, 2019, 3:17 pmDaily Digest, News >

Boxer Patrick Day died Wednesday, just four days after being knocked out in the ring by Charles Conwell in Chicago last Saturday. Day, 27, succumbed to a traumatic brain injury he suffered that night, according to a statement from his promoter, Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment.

“He was surrounded by his family, close friends and members of his boxing team, including his mentor, friend and trainer Joe Higgins,” DiBella said in a statement. “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.”

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Conwell reacted to the incident, expressing genuine regret for what happened to his combatant.

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“All I wanted to do was win. If I could take it all back, I would,” Conwell wrote. “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.”

Conwell, a 2016 Olympic boxer, knocked Day out in the 10th round and watched as Day was motionless for minutes as a medical team was rushed in to assess his injuries. Eventually he was taken out of the ring on a stretcher, and transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Day was a decorated amateur before he became professional fighter, but it this bout the match was controlled by Conwell throughout.

He turned pro in 2013 and captured the WBC Continental Americas championship in 2017 and the IBF Intercontinental championship in 2019. By June 2019, he was rated in the top 10 by the WBC and the IBF. HIs record as of Saturday was 17-4-1.

Dibella said it is “very difficult to explain away or justify the dangers of boxing at a time like this.”

“While we don’t have the answers, we certainly know many of the questions, have the means to answer them, and have the opportunity to respond responsibly and accordingly and make boxing safer for all who participate,” DiBella Entertainment said.