The provincial coroner’s office will investigate after Mexican boxer Jeanette Zacaris Zapata died from injuries sustained in a bout last weekend in Montreal, Quebec’s public security minister says.
Geneviève Guilbault said Friday the office will look into the “probable causes and circumstances” of the 18-year-old athlete’s death.
“Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of boxer Jeanette Zacarias Zapata,” she wrote on social media.
Zacarias Zapata died Thursday afternoon, five days after she was struck down in the ring by Quebecer Marie-Pier Houle at the IGA Stadium in Jarry Park.
Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM), which organized the boxing event, issued a statement about the boxer’s death later Thursday evening after speaking with a representative of the family. The team said it was “extremely distressed by the painful announcement.”
The organization also extended its condolences to Zacarias Zapata’s loved ones and Jovanni Martinez, her husband, “who was at her bedside until her last moments.”
Zacarias Zapata was rushed out of the stadium after sustaining a series of punches in the ring last Saturday. She seemed stunned after a hard blow at the end of the fourth round and appeared to convulse while standing.
The athlete was in the intensive care unit at the Sacré-Coeur-de-Montreal hospital. Yvon Michel, president of GYM, said at the time that Zacarias Zapata was placed in a medically induced coma to sedate her and relax her body and brain.
Houle said on Facebook she was devastated by Zapata’s death and offered her condolences to her family and her husband.
‘My heart aches for her family and friends’
Isabelle Charest, the minister responsible for sports in Quebec and former Olympic short track speed skater, offered her deepest condolences to the boxer’s family.
In wake of Zacarias Zapata’s death, sympathies quickly poured in from other athletes and members of the boxing community. The 18-year-old will “forever be remembered as a warrior,” said one message.
Condolences for Zacarias Zapata could also be seen on social media from users in Canada and Mexico.
“My heart aches for her family and friends,” wrote one user on Twitter.
—with files from The Canadian Press