CHICAGO, IL—Patrick Day,27, a junior middleweight boxer, passed away on Wednesday, October 16, just four days after a 10th round knockout loss from Saturday, October 12.
Day was knocked down twice before his knockout by his undefeated opponent, Charles Conwell, a 2016 U.S. Olympian, during the scheduled 10-round fight at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. During the 10th round, Conwell landed two rights and a left hook that knocked out Day who fell and hit the back of his head as he slammed onto the canvas. The referee immediately stopped the match without a count at 1 minute and 46 seconds.
Day was immediately evaluated by medical personnel and quickly taken out of the ring on a stretcher. He was later transported via ambulance to a local hospital for treatment. He had a seizure after the knockout and slipped into a coma before undergoing emergency brain surgery, where he never regaining consciousness.
Day was disconnected from life support on Wednesday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, surrounded by family and friends, indicated promoter Lou DiBella.
Two days before Day’s death, his opponent, Conwell, posted a supportive letter to Day on social media that read:
“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. I can’t stop thinking about it myself. I prayed for you so many times and shedded so many tears because I couldn’t even imagine how my family and friends would feel. I see you everywhere I go and all I hear is wonderful things about you.”
Day is originally from Freeport, New York and had a record of 17-4-1, 6 KOs. He turned pro in 2013 and in June 2019, he was rated as the top 10 by both the World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF).
