The death of an 18-year-old boxer has brought concussion recommendations following assessments of a previous knockout.
Jeanette Zapata died after being stopped during a Quebec event promoted by Yvon Michel in August 2021. Marie Pier Houle halted the Mexican in four rounds at Stade IGA.
Zapata fought three months after suffering a prior KO against Cynthia Lozano. The teenager died five days later.
She was initially cleared to face Houle by timescale alone rather than a full-scale investigation of any damages caused by the blows from the bout.
Jeanette Zapata died of Second Impact Syndrome
According to a recent coroner’s report, Zapata may have died due to Second Impact Syndrome. Alterations of the rules could now follow from the outcome of the report.
Quebec coroner Jacques Ramsay confirmed the cause of death as repeated blows to the head. This made Zapata’s brain swell uncontrollably.
Despite the verdict, an accidental cause was placed on the death certificate. No blame lies with Houle due to the nature of the sport.
However, Ramsay says Second Impact Syndrome must be considered in future fights to stop many others from suffering the same fate.
After Zapata lost to Lozano in the way she did via sickening knockout, she undoubtedly should have been flagged for review before any other bouts were arranged.
Zapata’s father had stated his daughter lost consciousness after the fight, and Ramsay believes concussion protocol could be needed when a fighter blacks out.
Mexcian boxing authorities do not allow a boxer to fight until eight weeks after a stoppage. However, no actual investigations were carried out into why Zapata lost consciousness.
Facing more blows within sixteen weeks of the first incident was the most likely cause of the cerebral edema that grew out of control after the Houle defeat.
Ramsay said: “It was to the point that the intracranial pressure was already difficult to deal with during the first few hours in the hospital. The quickness with which it set in could be interpreted as a sign of Second Impact syndrome.”
Concussion denial
The hope is that doctors and boxing authorities can learn from the mistakes made in the Zapata case. They can save more lives in the future if more is done.
However, to have made a difference in Zapata’s case, the fighter must have checked a solitary box on a questionnaire.
“Ms. Zacarias Zapata answered ‘no’ to each question. This includes the one asking if she’s ever had a concussion, a head injury, or experienced loss of consciousness,” the report added. “That means she did not consider her knockout in May a concussion.”
If Zapata had checked the box, her health going into the fight would have been further scrutinized. Recommendations will now be pushed forward due to the mistakes made in Zapata’s cases.
The report outlines that boxers should be ordered to submit a description of the knockout and any strange occurrences in the body during the aftermath. Plus, any video footage must be reviewed alongside the description.
They must also supply a post-fight medical report and undergo neuropsychological testing [and compared to older tests]. That’s before being considered for clearance to fight again.
Promoter Michel, who was distraught after the loss of Zapata on his show, agreed with the recommendations.