Patrick Day after winning a fight in October 2018. Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images
Light middleweight boxer Patrick Day died Wednesday after suffering a traumatic brain injury during a fight on Saturday in Chicago. He was 27.
Context: Day was knocked out in the 10th round by 21-year-old Charles Conwell and was taken to the hospital immediately. He was comatose that night and went into a coma after surgery but never woke up.
What they're saying: Conwell posted an open letter to Day via Instagram on Monday, saying he never meant to hurt him and that he was considering quitting boxing.
"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 ... I replay the fight over and over in my head thinking what if this never happened and why did it happen to you."
Gut-wrenching: "It was a running issue between Pat and I, how he came from a very educated, successful family and his mother didn't want him to box," said promoter Lou DiBella, per The Athletic (subscription). "I've known Pat since he was a kid, and she never attended one of his fights."