Jeanette Guadeloupe Zacarias Zapata, left, faces Marie-Pier Houle in a welterweight fight at the stade IGA, in Montreal, on Aug. 28, 2021.Yannick Maltais/The Canadian Press
A Quebec coroner says Mexican boxer Jeanette Guadeloupe Zacarias Zapata did not declare a likely prior concussion before an August 2021 match in Montreal that led to her death.
Coroner Jacques Ramsay concludes in a report released today that 18-year-old Zacarias Zapata died of a traumatic brain injury after she suffered a cerebral knockout during the match with Quebec boxer Marie-Pier Houle.
Ramsay says Zacarias Zapata’s death was accidental but came 15 weeks after a match in Mexico in which she likely suffered a similar cerebral knockout – characterized by head trauma causing a concussion.
The coroner notes that the boxer answered negative to a question on a government-issued questionnaire about previous concussions and head injuries before the 2021 fight at Montreal’s IGA Stadium.
Among Ramsay’s recommendations is a call for Quebec’s sports regulator to require fighters who are knocked out in a preceding match to submit details of what happened and associated medical reports before their next fight.
He also recommends that the regulator require fighters to undergo neuropsychological testing after cerebral knockouts.