The dreaded news of Jeanette Zacarias Zapata’s passing
On Thursday, September 2, 2021, came news that an 18-year-old, beloved female boxer by the name of Jeanette Zacarias Zapata from Villa de Puertecitos, Aguascalientes, Mexico (a victim we later discovered of 3-straight-lopsided-fights) had passed away from blows she received on the side of her head in a Montreal Boxing ring in a fight which aired Saturday night on the USA Fite Network.
In various reports delivered by Yvon Michel, the promoter of this boxing show, we learned that the 18-year-old Jeanette Zacarias Zapata had suffered a series of power punches in the corner of the ring and after a solid uppercut, this young lady seemed stunned near the end of the fourth round. A final right hook from her opponent Marie-Pier Houle caused Zapata’s mouthpiece to fly out of her mouth which then somehow left her unable to return to her corner after the bell had rung.
Zapata, who appeared to convulse while still standing there, was soon joined by her partner and trainer Jovanni Martinez, who quickly laid her down on the canvas of the ring. The on-site medical team then rushed to her side and she was immobilized on a stretcher before being rushed off to a nearby hospital in an ambulance.
In a briefing on Sunday, Yvon Michel, the president of Groupe Yvon Michel, stated that Zapata had been placed in a medically induced coma to sedate her and relax her body and brain, adding that the following two to five days would be “critical.” Then, on Thursday here he was with the horrible: “It is with great sadness and torment that we learned from a representative of her family that Jeannette Zacarias Zapata passed away this afternoon at 3:45 pm. The beloved Jeannette Zacarias Zapata had been in critical condition at the Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal which is located in Sacré-Cœur-de Montréal according to our earlier update.
“The entire team at Groupe Yvon Michel team is extremely distressed by this painful announcement. We would like to offer our most sincere condolences to her family, loved ones, friends and especially her husband, Jovianni Martinez, who was at her bedside until her last moments.”
After doing the proper research on Jeanette Zacarias Zapata’s boxing career, especially her last three opponents, we discovered that her last opponent, the 31-year-old, still undefeated Marie-Pier Houle (4-0-1, 2 KOs) is presently the #1 ranked welterweight in Canada. And what of Jeanette Zacarias Zapata’s two previous opponents?
In her previous match on May 14, 2021, at the Arena Coliseo in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, the then 17-year-old Jeanette Zacarias Zapata (2-2) faced the undefeated super welterweight Cynthia Lozano (8-0). At that time, Lozano was the #8 ranked Super Welterweight in the world and according to all accounts she KO’d Jeanette Zacarias Zapata in their final round.
Then, we go back one additional fight to Friday, November 9, 2018 to a show at the Arena José Sulaimán, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. At that time the promoter had the then 15-year-old Jeanette Zacarias Zapata (2-1) battling the 30-year-old Alma “The Conqueror” Ibarra (4-0, 4 KOs) who at that time was the 5th ranked Female Welterweight in the World. She still is. That fight had been scheduled to go six rounds but only lasted three.
Bottom line: this young lady’s career had been poorly managed. A young lady of 15 to 18, no matter how gifted they are, how wonderful they appear to be, is ever going to have a chance against a fully developed and mature woman of 30 years of age. And this young lady was placed in front of not one, but three formidable foes. All three were more mature, better schooled in boxing and fully developed.
