18-year old Jeanette Zacarias Zapata dies Five Days after being critically Injured in the Ring by Sue TL Fox

PHOTOS ON FILE WITH WBAN

(SEPT 3) On August 28, 2021, at the IGA Stadium, in Montreal, Canada, boxing fans around the world heard after a six-round scheduled fight between Jeanette Zacarias Zapata, an 18 year old, getting stopped in the fourth round by 31 year old Marie Pier Houle, that Zapata was critically injured in the ring.

A mismatch perhaps?  Many who have talked about this fight called it just that….

So what was Zapata’s ring experience at 18 years old?

At the ripe old age of 15 or nearly 16 years old (we do not have her date of birth) she made her pro debut against Fernanda Camarillo, who was also making her pro debut, winning the four rounder.

She had three more fights in 2018 where she lost two of the fights (still way under the age of 18).  The last fight in 2018 ended in a loss by a RTD.

Fast forward, almost three years later, and she is back in the ring where she fights on May 14, 2021, getting KO’d no less just three months prior to her fight that ended her life.  She was stopped by an undefeated boxer Cynthia Lozano, at the Arena Coliseo, in Reynosa.

With only one fight on her record that ended in a stoppage after fighting almost three years prior—she is scheduled to fight Marie Pier Houle, a Canadian from Quebec with a undefeated record of 4-0-1 (2KO).

How was it described in the media, “Zapata suffered a series of power punches in the corner of the ring and, after a solid uppercut, the Mexican seemed stunned near the end of the fourth round. A final right hook caused Zapata’s mouthguard to fly out and left her unable to return to her corner after the bell rang.”

A sad day in women’s boxing—and a wake-up call to those in boxing who are making matches and checking fighter’s backgrounds before matching them up with opponents.

Update:  Statement from who arranged the fight with Zapata:

In a news article on the net, the (bout arranger Vincent Morin) of the Jeanette Zacarias Zapata fight where she died five days later from that fight he arranged this was said: “Morin was unable to see how Zapata got brutally pummeled in her outing against Cynthia Lozano in May (attached video). Had he done so, things could have been different. We did not have access to this video before starting negotiations with Zapata,” Morin told the Montreal Journal. “Of course, I would have liked to see her.” “We knew she had lost by knockout, but we didn’t know the circumstances in which she had cashed it.” “If I had seen her before, Marie-Pier [Houle] would not have boxed last Saturday. “The only video I had found on the web was that of the duel between Zapata and Alma Ibarra. For the May fight, all I had found was an article in Spanish.” “It was about a fierce fight where the two boxers had exchanged more than 300 punches. There was talk of a fall to the floor with a blow to the body.” “What I saw in the video was a fall from exhaustion. As far as I know, she did not go to the hospital. She came home after the fight.” Video: Zapata’s fight with Lazano.  [World Boxing News] article