By Matt Eppers
Boxer Patrick Day died Wednesday after suffering a traumatic brain injury Saturday night during a bout in Chicago. He was 27.
Day was hospitalized and in “extremely critical condition” Saturday night after he was knocked out by Charles Conwell in the 10th round of their USBA super welterweight title fight. Day was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and underwent emergency surgery. He lapsed into a coma and never regained consciousness.
His promoter, Lou DiBella, announced Day’s death in a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying the boxer was surrounded by his family, friends and members of his boxing team.
The statement read: “Patrick Day didn’t need to box. He came from a good family, he was smart, educated, had good values and had other avenues available to him to earn a living. He chose to box, knowing the inherent risks that every fighter faces when he or she walks into a boxing ring. Boxing is what Pat loved to do. It’s how he inspired people and it was something that made him feel alive.”
According to news reports of the fight, Day went down in the fourth and eighth rounds before being knocked unconscious by a left hook in the 10th. ESPN reported that Day suffered a seizure on the way to the hospital.
Day, a native of Freeport, New York, was 17-4-1 with six knockouts. He was a New York Golden Gloves winner in 2012 and made his professional debut the following year.
News of Day’s hospitalization left the Long Island boxing community in shock.
“I’m sick over it,” Chris Algieri, a former WBO junior welterweight champion, told Newsday. “I’ve known Patrick since he was a teenage amateur training at the Freeport PAL. Patrick grew into a very disciplined and gritty professional. Whether in the gym or in the ring you could always expect 100 percent effort out of Pat … and at the end of it all, a smile. One of the true nice guys in the sport who stood out as a consummate gentleman warrior.”
Contributing: Steve Gardner
Article courtesy of USA Today
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