Investigation opened into death of Mexican boxer in Montreal who fought for about 1,400 dollars

The death of 18-year-old Mexican Jeanette Zacarias Zapata after a professional bout in Canada has shocked the boxing world.

Zapata was to receive the modest purse of 1,800 Canadian dollars (about 1,430 U.S. dollars) for this fight.

Quebec’s Minister of Public Safety, Geneviève Guilbault, has announced a forensic investigation into the probable causes and circumstances that led to the death of the fighter from the state of Aguascalientes.

The young woman lost by knockout on Saturday, August 28 in the fourth round of a welterweight bout to 31-year-old Canadian Marie-Pier Houle. At the end of the fourth round she was beaten while on the ropes and although the referee stopped the fight, Zapata began to convulse and collapsed in a corner.

After five days in an induced coma she died in a Montreal hospital. For Zapata it was her first fight abroad.

Her short professional career was reduced to two wins and four losses, three of them by knockout, including the tragic ending.

She had been hired for a poster organized by a Canadian promoter, GYM, three months after suffering a technical knockout on May 15 against Cynthia Lozano and after being inactive for about two and a half years.

Canadian media have released a video of the encounter with Lozano in which Zapata can be seen taking heavy punishment against the ropes, similar to that of the disastrous evening in Montreal, which has fueled criticism.

The president of the Mexican Olympic Boxing Federation, Ricardo Contreras, clarified to Around The Rings that Zacarias Zapata was not registered as a pugilist with the entity he directs.

“We had absolutely no knowledge about her. We don’t know either who gave her the authorization as a professional to leave the country, nor who took her to Canada,” said Contreras

“I think the authorities of professional boxing in Aguascalientes will have to do a thorough investigation and clarify responsibilities,” he added.

“We have never had the misfortune of having an accident like this in our Federation. We always try to be as demanding as possible to avoid a tragedy,” said the Mexican federation official, although he recognizes that this is a contact sport and high risk in any field.

A hundred women, including several professionals, competed a month ago in five divisions of the Olympic tournament in Tokyo without any health problems, nor in the qualifying processes.

Women’s boxing made its debut at the London 2012 Olympic Games. To compete, professionals must accept Olympic rules such as fighting with headlocks or guards.

Women’s boxing has grown rapidly over the past decade, both at the amateur and professional levels.

Zapata’s death from brain injuries in the ring is the second known death among women.

On April 2, 2005, during the Colorado State Women’s Championship, Becky Zerlentes was knocked out in the third round by her opponent, Heather Schmitz, despite having a header, and never regained consciousness. She is considered the first female fighter fatality from injuries sustained during a sponsored fight in the United States.

Zerlentes had a record of 6 wins and 4 losses. She won a regional Golden Gloves in 2002 and also competed in triathlon, swimming and martial arts.

According to the Canadian portal RDS , the Mexican Zapata was hired “thanks to a boxing agent located in the border region of Baja California” as the best option for the local Houle, after a failed search for rivals in Canada, the United States and Europe due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Zapata was accompanied at all times by Jovanni Martinez, her partner and trainer, who, according to the site, would also participate as a fighter in the evening.

The death of Jeanette Zacarias Zapata revived the memories of June 20, 1980, at the Olympic Stadium, when Gaétan Hart sent Cleveland Denny to the waxing from which he never got up.

In recent days a wave of questions, concerns, and criticisms have been uncovered in the boxing community in Quebec and Mexico surrounding what is by all accounts a tragic negligence that resulted in a death that could have been prevented.

Stéphan Larouche, a leading trainer of several world champions, estimated that on a Saturday night alone there could be 330 fights in the world, and about 1,000 on the weekend in professional boxing, adding up to about 50,000 per year.

“But a single death has an impact, so let’s do better to prevent it,” he said in the sense of the need for better communication between entities that issue boxing licenses, standardization of requirements from one place to another and neuropsychological monitoring at intervals to athletes. And he urged greater vigilance and a sense of responsibility on the part of the boxers’ environment.

“I feel guilty even though I know it is part of the risks of our profession,” a beleaguered Marie-Pier Houle told the Canadian press.

After the death of the young Zapata, the Mexican Consulate General in Montreal announced that the repatriation of her body, for which her parents are waiting in the Puertecito de la Virgen neighborhood, could take about two weeks.