By Miguel Rivera

On Monday morning, an ugly rumor broke out on the social networks about the passing of welterweight contender Prichard Colon.

However, his father Richard Colón told Primera Hora that the young 24-year-old is still in the process of rehabilitation in the hope that he will be able to emerge from the coma that he's been in since October 2015.

Colon's father has no idea where the rumor began or who started it, but he was flooded with messages and calls when the rumor began to circulate across on different social platforms.

"We do not know who irresponsibly got that information or where it came from. Maybe someone with an agenda. Prichard remains stable within his condition," said Richard Colón during a telephone conversation from the state of Florida.

"Yesterday (Sunday) I was with Prichard. I worked with him, doing his stretches and his therapies. When he sees me he tries to speak and his expression changes. In fact, his mom (Nieve Meléndez) told me last night was one of the best nights Prichard has had.

Prichard has been in Orlando, Florida since last May after completing a long stay at a rehabilitation center in the state of Georgia.

"All we ask for is prayers. We are very grateful to the people and Prichard is improving. The prayers are becoming blessings for Prichard," said the boxer's father.

Colon suffered a brain bleed as a result of numerous fouls that were inflicted during his fight with Terrell Williams in October 2015. During the course of the fight, Colon complained numerous times that Williams was striking him with illegal punches to the back of the head. Williams did lose a point for rabbit punching, but there was a heavy outcry over the referee being very lenient in the fight.

Colon was disqualified when his corner got confused and thought the end of the ninth round was actually the end of the fight and they began to take his gloves off. The error of his corner likely saved his life as there was one more round to go. At the time of the DQ, some critics felt Colon was looking for a way out of the fight, but those claims were rubbished when the boxer passed out in his dressing room.