What to Know
- A boxer from Long Island is in “very grave” condition after getting knocked out during a bout over the weekend, according to his trainer
- Freeport’s Patrick Day was knocked unconscious during his bout and required brain surgery just a day after the traumatic injury
- The news has hit the Long Island community hard, as many described Day as someone who lights up every room he enters
A boxer from Long Island is in “very grave” condition after getting knocked out during a bout over the weekend, according to his trainer.
Freeport’s Patrick Day was knocked unconscious during the tenth round of his super welterweight title match against Charles Conwell in Chicago on Saturday, and required brain surgery just a day after the traumatic injury from which he never regained consciousness, according to reports.
He remained in a coma as of Monday night.
The boxer’s trainer, Joe Higgins, told NBC New York in a text that “All I can say is that he's in very grave condition and we are all devastated.”
The news has hit the Long Island community hard, as many described Day as someone who lights up every room he enters.
“He's always smiling, always positive, always in a good mood. One of the nicest people in this sport,” said boxing champion Chris Algieri, who once sparred with Day at the Freeport’s modest Police Athletic League facility, an unassuming blue building in a community park.
Local
As the whole community, including a local church, hoped for the best for Day, Algieri said what happened to the boxer is something that crosses everyone’s mind before they step into the ring.
“It was his dream to be a champion,” said Algieri. “That's what we do this for, why we put our lives on the line for it.”
Conwell, Day’s opponent in the match, is one of the many praying for Day’s recovery. He addressed Day in an Instagram post directly, saying “I never meant for this to happen to you. All I even wanted to do was win. If I could take it all back I would, no one deserves for this to happen to them.”
The former Olympian said he has replayed 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 think about it myself, I prayed for you so many times and shedded (sic) so may tears because I couldn’t even imagine how my family and friends would feel. I see you everywhere I go and all I heard is wonderful things about you. I thought about quitting boxing but I know that’s not what you would want.”
