A female Mexican boxer died days after she was knocked unconscious during a bout in Montreal, The Associated Press, ESPN and others said Friday.
Event organizer Groupe Yvon Michel said Jeanette Zacarias Zapata died from injuries sustained in a fight with Quebec boxer Marie-Pier Houle Saturday night at IGA stadium in Montreal.
Houle landed a strong left uppercut and then caught Zapata with a right hook in the fourth round, reports said.
The right hook caused her mouthguard to fly out and made her unable to return to her corner after the bell rang.
She struggled to recover after the bell rang to end the round, and then she started to convulse before going unconscious.
In the moments leading up to Zapata's knockout, the referee did not intervene.
Zapata's trainer, on-site emergency medical crews and a ring physician assigned during the event rushed to help her.
Zapata was stretchered off and to a local hospital after she remained unresponsive for several minutes. There, she was placed in a medically-induced coma to sedate her and relax her brain and body.
Michel, who is president of Groupe Yvon Michel Promotions (GYM) which organized the match, announced Zapata's death on social media late Thursday, saying she succumbed at around 3:45 p.m. Zapata was 18.
"We would like to offer our sincere condolences to her family, loved ones, friends and especially to her husband Jovianni Martinez, who was at her bedside until her last moments," the statement read.
According to CBC News, Zapata had undergone neurological tests to be allowed to join the Montreal fight because she suffered a knockout in a bout in Mexico last May.
Houle was, reportedly, devastated in the aftermath of their fight. Soon after the bout, Houle took to social media to express her own concern for Zapata.
Houle said it was never part of her plan to seriously hurt an opponent. "My sincere thoughts go to my opponent, Jeannette Zapata, as well as to her family," she said. "I wish with all my heart that she will recover."
Regie des Alcools des Courses et des Jeux (RACJ), a regulatory body that oversees numerous events in Quebec, will launch an inquiry following Zapata's death, Global News reported.
