Pictured: Larry Hazzard Sr. shows off his hall of fame ring during his induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2010. Photography: John Haeger

As the boxing world recognized the sixth month of Prichard Colon’s struggle to awaken from his coma, following a bout with Terrel Williams in Fairfax, Virginia, last October 17th, the World Boxing Council (WBC) announced they would honor the boxer by attaching his name to an initiative to reform officiating of back-of-the-head “rabbit” punches. The initiative, dubbed the “Prichard Colon Rule,” requires referees take immediate action once this tactic shows up. “We encourage all referees from all commissions in the world to be firm and energetic in this dangerous blow to the back of the head,” said WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman. “We are naming this procedure the “Prichard Colon Rule” as a reminder to all of the heroic battle that he is putting up.”

Pictured: Prichard Colon turns to Joseph Cooper after being rabbit punched on October 17.
Photography: Wallace Barron

Early in their fight on October 17th, Williams established himself by repeatedly initiating a clinch and sliding over to Colon’s left shoulder, and following through with a right-hand to the back of the head. These short, twisting, punches are a familiar garnish of Williams’ arsenal and have aided him against opponents like Andre Ewell, Marqus Jackson, and Bernardo Guereca. However, against Prichard Colon, referee Joseph Cooper refused to even warn Williams about the tactic. And when Colon tried to bring it to his attention in the fifth round, Cooper told him five times, “you take care of that.” Cooper would later acknowledge that he saw the punches but made a judgment call based on his perception of their severity. This hands-off enforcement of a well-known boxing rule has inspired a global call-to-action to protect the most vulnerable spot on a fighter’s body: “the medulla oblongata,” which sits at the base of the skull, and is relatively unprotected.

Pictured: Joseph Cooper tells Prichard Colon “You take care of it.” Photography: Wallace Barron

Under the “Prichard Colon Rule,” the first warning for rabbit punching will be given by the referee in the dressing room. Once the tactic starts to show up in the ring, it will be counted as a second warning. After that has been established, the next warning will bring a one or two point deduction. If it still persists, the referee will have no choice but to disqualify the fighter. It is a firm standard that – if it had been in practice on October 17 – would have netted Williams his second warning by the end of Round 1. He might have come close to having a point taken away, depending on how the referee interpreted that wild swing Williams took at the back of Colon’s head at 26 seconds of Round 1. Joseph Cooper was facing Colon when Williams came around with that home run swing and yet still said nothing to him.

Pictured: WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel
Photograpy: BoxingScene.com Photos

While Mauricio Sulaiman has given a voice to this issue, other leaders in the industry are behind the effort and are even taking measures of their own. “We completely endorse Mauricio Sulaiman’s position regarding rabbit punches,” said Ed Levine, the President of the International Boxing Organization (IBO). “There definitely should be a stricter enforcement of the rules regarding these very dangerous fouls.” The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is holding their 29th Annual Convention in Prichard Colon’s homeland of Puerto Rico. WBO President Francisco Valcarcel is concerned as well, and has scheduled a presentation for the convention to address the matter. “We will invite two Neurologists to the 29th WBO Convention to be held from the 17th to the 21st of October in San Juan, PR,” he said. “This issue will be discussed extensively.”

Pictured: Team Colon (Marcus Watson, Ricardo Colón, Pedro Luis Díaz, Prichard ‘Digget’ Colón, Richard Colón, André Díaz, and Brandon Watson) Photography: Marcus Watson

Various members of the Association of Boxing Commissions have shown their concern, and are taking greater steps that align with the WBC’s edict. Gianluca DiCaro, Vice President of the Malta Boxing Commission, British and Irish Boxing Authority, has instructed his officials on the importance of zero tolerance. “We have today made the point to our officials regarding this and besides adding a notice to the effect shall be making the point to the boxers also at the pre fight rules meeting, starting from tomorrow’s Liverpool event,” he said.” Our best wishes go out to Prichard and his family.”

Pictured: WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman Photography: Ethan Miller

Commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, Hall of Fame referee, and an appointed chairman of officials for the International Boxing Federation (IBF), Larry Hazzard Sr., sees it as an issue of referee incompetence that doesn’t necessarily require a new policy. “We do not feel that it is necessary to rename the violation the Prichard Colon Rule after the boxer who was seriously injured because of the incompetence of the referee and his reluctance to enforce the rules by utilizing the point deductions and disqualification options at his disposal. It is very unfortunate what happened to boxer Prichard Colon as a result of this flagrant rule violation and my prayers go out to him and his family. The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board will continue to emphasize to its referees what it has always emphasized and that is to strictly enforce the rules of boxing which include but is not limited to ‘no rabbit punching’.”

Pictured: Prichard Colon visibly upset at being rabbit punched by Terrel Williams.
Photography: Wallace Barron

Bernie Profato, the Executive Director of the Ohio Athletic Commission, is in agreement that it is referee negligence that needs to be addressed. “I totally concur with Larry Hazard’s address to this issue. It’s not the rule it’s the person who interprets and enforces the rules. I too send out our prayers for him and his family, but agree we first of all can’t change a rule if there is negligence show. It wasn’t the rule it was the negligence of non-enforcement.”

Pictured: Prichard Colon poses with a young fan. Photography: Prichard Colon

In the wake of Prichard Colon’s six months in a coma, the boxing world is still trying to find the medium between regulation and accountability. As boxing leaders discuss the grave danger posed by unchecked rabbit punching and the negligence that caused Prichard Colon’s coma, boxers continue to put their lives on the line. With so much to lose, it is concerning that referee Joseph Cooper is still refereeing in Washington D.C. In fact, he was already refereeing on February 27th, while he was under investigation for his actions during Colon-Williams. What is more frightening yet is that Cooper serves as Washington D.C.’s Supervisor of Officials. In my correspondence with the boxing commissions, a D.C. commission representative was privy and offered no response.

What could have possibly led the Washington D.C. Commission to conclude that Joseph Cooper was fit to referee boxing before anyone else? Has he gone through any further training since October 17th? How is the Washington D.C. Commission going to address this issue? They have been asked all of these questions and have offered no response. When asked about the status of Joseph Cooper by Main Course, Washington D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commissioner Andrew Huff said, “No information on Mr. Cooper at this time.”