Say A Prayer for My Friend Super Welterweight Patrick Day in Critical Condition
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Tragedy often strikes when we least expect it. In the case of one of my friends, super welterweight Patrick Day, always a top 50 worldwide fighter inability, his has been a career of dramatic ups and downs.
On October 12, 2019, Patrick Day got knocked out in the tenth and final round of a 10 round USBA Super Welterweight title bout by David McWater fighter Charles Conwell, 11-0 with eight knockouts, Cleveland, Ohio. Day, 17-4 with six knockouts, Freeport, New York, was taken to the hospital in a coma with a traumatic brain injury, remains in extremely critical condition, and has not recovered or regained consciousness.
This reporter covered a number of Patrick Day’s bouts early in his career at Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, and BB King Blues Club & Grill in New York City, where Day revealed himself to be a fine technical fighter as well as having a bright cheerful personality. After a poor performance in November 2015 where he got stopped by Carlos Garcia Hernandez in the first round at Aviator Arena, Patrick sought me out after the bout, and we then sat aside away from the spectators, and talked quietly about where he went wrong, and whether there were any other things going on, his training for the bout, personal events in his life, and anything else which might have affected his level of confidence entering the bout.
After our talk, Patrick bounced back, winning six decisions in a row, the last five ten round wins, over top flight super welterweight divisional opposition with winning records and a combined 103 wins at the time he defeated them. This included winning four consecutive World Boxing Council Continental Americas Super Welterweight title bouts. Patrick was on a roll.
Patrick then lost a 10 round decision in June 2019 to worldwide top ten contender Dominican fighter Carlos Adames, 17-0 with 14 knockouts, Washington Heights, New York, for the NABF and vacant WBO NABO Super Welterweight titles. Two judges had it 97-93 for Adames. Patrick tried again in his bout last weekend against Conwell, but got counted out at 1:46 of the tenth and final round of what had been an exciting bout to that point. Why Day gave up his WBC Continental Americas belt to challenge for other belts as the challenger was probably because he regarded Adames and Conwell as the best bout proposals on the tables to advance for a world title opportunity.
Patrick Day will never fight again. Like Adonis Stevenson, and others before him, Patrick Day is fighting for his life. Say a prayer for him so that he might live again.
In a written statement after his bout with Patrick Day, 2016 Olympian Charles Conwell wrote “I never meant for this to happen to you. I can’t stop thinking about it myself. I prayed for you so many times and shed so many tears because I couldn’t even imagine how my family and friends would feel. I see you everywhere you go, and all I hear is wonderful things about you. I thought about quitting boxing, but I know that’s not what you would want (me to do). I know that you were a fighter at heart, so I decided not to, and (I want) to fight on and win a world title, because that’s what you wanted (you would want), and that’s what I want. So, I will use you as motivation every day, and (I will) make sure I leave it (my desire to win it) all in the ring every time.”
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