Boxer, 18, Dies 5 Days After She Was Knocked Out

Jeannette Zacarias Zapata appeared to have seizure during Montreal fight
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2021 11:53 AM CDT
Boxer, 18, Dies 5 Days After She Was Knocked Out
"The entire team at Groupe Yvon Michel team is extremely distressed by this painful announcement," the promoter said.   (Getty Images/allanswart)

Canadian authorities are investigating the death of an 18-year-old boxer from Mexico who was knocked unconscious during a Saturday night bout in Montreal. Event promoter Groupe Yvon Michel said Thursday night that it had learned with "great sadness and torment" that Jeannette Zacarias Zapata had died in the hospital earlier that day, the Montreal Gazette reports. The promoter said the boxer's husband was at her side in her last moments. Zapata was rushed to the hospital after the fourth round of the six-round bout against Canadian boxer Marie Pier Houle. She appeared to have a seizure after a left uppercut and right hook from Houle, reports the BBC.

Zapata was taken to the ICU, where she was put in a medically induced coma. Officials said Friday that the Quebec coroner's office will investigate the "probable causes and the circumstances" of the teen's death, the CBC reports. The promoter said Zapata, who was knocked out in a fight in Mexico in May, had undergone neurological exams to get permission to fight in the Montreal event.

Houle expressed concern on social media after the Saturday fight. "Never, ever, is the intention of seriously injuring an opponent in my plans." she said. "My sincere thoughts go to my opponent, Jeanette Zacarias Zapata, as well as to her family. I wish with all my heart that she will recover." (More boxing stories.)

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