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Boxer Patrick Day dies at 27 of traumatic brain injury after being knocked out in the ring

Boxer Patrick Day died Wednesday after suffering a traumatic brain injury from a violent knockout in a fight on Saturday, October 12, his representatives said in a statement. Day was 27.

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

Day stayed down on the canvas for several minutes after a barrage of punches from opponent Charles Conwell led to a stoppage in the 10th round of the fight, CBS Sports reports.

Day remained unconscious and suffered seizures on his way to the ambulance before being rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. After surgery, he remained in critical condition in a coma caused by his injuries.   

Omar Figueroa v Robert Guerrero
Patrick Day, center, celebrates his unanimous decision over Eric Walker for the WBC Continental Americas Jr. Middleweight championship at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on July 15, 2017 in Uniondale, New York. Day defeated Walker by a . Rich Schultz / Getty Images

In June 2019, Day, a welterweight professional, was ranked in top 10 by the World Boxing Council and the International Boxing Federation, according to DiBella Entertainment. He won the WBC Continental Americas championship in 2017 and the IBF Intercontinental championship in 2019. 

Originally from Freeport, New York, Day was a highly decorated amateur before becoming a professional boxer. In 2012, he won two Nationals titles, and the New York Golden Gloves tournament. He was also an Olympic Team alternate.

Conwell posted a lengthy message on Sunday about Day. "Dear Patrick Day," he wrote. "I never meant for this to happen to you. 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."

There have been several other deaths in the sport in recent years. In the span of two days in late July, 28-year-old Russian welterweight prospect Maxim Dadashev and 23-year-old Argentine lightweight Hugo Alfredo Santillan died of injuries suffered inside the ring, CBS Sports reports. In December 2018, light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson, 42, was placed in a medically induced coma after a knockout, before fighting for his life and eventually surviving. 

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