Bad Bunny Remembers Prichard Colón In Moving Tribute: “A Champion Of Our Homeland”
- HL News Desk
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny is remembering late boxer Prichard Colón with a deeply personal tribute revealing that his admiration for the fighter began long before his own rise to global fame.
Colón died Aug. 13 at age 33, nearly 11 years after suffering a catastrophic brain injury during his October 2015 bout against Terrel Williams. Once one of Puerto Rico’s most promising young fighters, Colón entered that fight undefeated at 16-0 with 13 knockouts. He suffered a subdural hematoma after receiving repeated blows to the back of the head and underwent emergency surgery, followed by a 221-day coma.
In a letter dated Aug. 14 and published in Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny — born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — recalled following Colón’s career in 2014, at the same time the future Grammy winner was recording his earliest music in his closet.
The connection, Bad Bunny revealed, was more personal than many fans might have known. The singer grew up a boxing fan and saw in Colón the potential to become Puerto Rico’s next great champion.
Below is an English translation of Bad Bunny’s letter:
CHAMPION FOREVER
Something you may not know about me is that, since I was a child, I have been a boxing fanatic. I was one of those who watched fights every Saturday, no matter who was fighting. I also believe that growing up with a boxing culture like the one we have in Puerto Rico adds an additional passion to the love I feel for the sport and the affection I have for our fighters.
In 2014, when I had barely begun recording songs in my closet, I was also beginning to follow the career of a young prospect from Puerto Rico whom I had a lot of faith in. I would tell everyone about this boxer with the same passion with which I told them about my music. Some already knew who he was, and for the rest, it was only a matter of time before they did.
Honestly, I had a feeling that he would be “the next one.” He had style, boxing skills, IQ, punching power, looks, presence, charisma… He had everything it took to become the great Puerto Rican star we so desperately needed in boxing.
Yesterday, that boxer left this world, and although fate took away his opportunity to become everything I knew he would be, we say goodbye to him and will remember him as a champion of our homeland. Another Puerto Rican who represented us and made us proud.
I never stopped supporting him. I never lost faith in him.
REST IN PEACE,
.
MUCH STRENGTH TO HIS FAMILY.
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio
August 14, 2026
Colón’s story became one of boxing’s most heartbreaking. The injuries sustained in his final fight ended a career that had appeared headed toward championship contention and left him requiring extensive care for the remainder of his life. The WBC later recognized Colón as an honorary champion.
Bad Bunny’s tribute, however, focuses less on the tragedy and more on what Colón represented — a young Puerto Rican fighter who made his island proud and whose potential was apparent to another young Puerto Rican chasing an improbable dream of his own.
More than a decade later, one became one of the biggest music stars in the world. The other never got the opportunity to discover how far his talent might have taken him.
For Bad Bunny, Colón will nevertheless remain what he always believed he could be: a champion.
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