Terrel Williams has faced a renewed wave of abuse following the death of Prichard Colón, with threats now also being directed at unrelated people who simply share his name.
Williams fought Colón in October 2015 in the bout that preceded Colón’s catastrophic brain injury. Williams was penalized during the fight for an illegal punch behind the head, and the controversy has followed him ever since.
Following Colón’s death at 33, people have returned to Williams’ old social media posts, including content published more than 11 years ago, to leave accusations and abusive messages. Williams has largely disappeared from public view since retiring from boxing in 2019.
The situation has also led to cases of mistaken identity. At least two unrelated men named Terrel or Terrell Williams have received hostile messages from people incorrectly believing they were the former boxer.
Williams did publicly express concern for Colón after their fight. Three days later, he said he could not enjoy the victory and was worried about his opponent. In 2018, he also said he prayed for Colón every day and denied ever intentionally trying to injure him.
While anger over the illegal punches and the consequences of the 2015 fight remains, threats against Williams and harassment of unrelated people have now become another disturbing part of the tragedy.
Image Credit: PBC