Female Boxer Dies after Bout

[Dana Sheets]

Source:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/m ... ml?cnn=yes

Female boxer dies after amateur bout
Posted: Monday April 4, 2005 11:37PM; Updated: Tuesday April 5, 2005 2:17AM

DENVER (AP) -- A female boxer who died from injuries sustained in a Colorado Golden Gloves boxing match this weekend is believed to be the first woman to die in an amateur boxing match in the United States.

Becky Zerlentes, 34, of Fort Collins died Sunday afternoon, said Howard Daniel of the Denver County coroner's office. A preliminary cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. Results from an autopsy conducted Monday were not immediately available.

Zerlentes was hit by a punch by her opponent, Heather Schmitz, and despite wearing protective headgear, fell unconscious to the canvas during the third round of her match late Saturday, USA Boxing spokeswoman Julie Goldsticker said.

Ringside physicians jumped into the ring but Zerlentes never regained consciousness and died several hours later at a hospital.

Zerlentes, who had a 6-4 record, was married.

"The USA Boxing family's thoughts and prayers go out to Becky's family and husband; we are deeply saddened by this loss," USA Boxing president Sandy Martinez-Pino said.

USA Boxing is the sanctioning body for amateur boxing. The organization lifted its ban on women in 1993 and currently has 2,200 registered participants.

Goldsticker said the last death at a USA Boxing sanctioned event happened in February 2001 when heavyweight Quinton Grier, 31, of Springfield, Ill., died after his match.
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[Bill Glasheen]

I just came to post this. I see you are on top of it.

Very sad...

We all take much for granted in these pujilistic arts.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

This source has unique information on the subject.

DENVER (AP) — A college teacher who won a regional boxing title three years ago died from a head injury she sustained in a Golden Gloves competition, apparently becoming the first woman to die in a sanctioned bout.
Becky Zerlentes, 34, of Fort Collins, died Sunday, Howard Daniel of the Denver County coroner's office said Monday. The preliminary cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head causing internal bleeding, but results from an autopsy were not immediately available.

Zerlentes is believed to be the first female amateur boxer to die in a sanctioned match, USA Boxing spokeswoman Julie Goldsticker said.

Zerlentes was hit by a punch from Heather Schmitz, and despite wearing protective headgear fell unconscious during the third round of a bout late Saturday, Goldsticker said.

"I didn't want to hurt her," Schmitz told KCNC-TV after the fight, when Zerlentes was still alive. "I feel very badly about that. ... I feel horrible how it ended. You don't go in there with the idea (that) I want to hurt this person."

Denver police Detective Teresa Garcia said Tuesday that homicide investigators were assigned to the case as a routine measure.

"They're just collecting all the information," she said. "More than likely there will probably be no criminal charges."

Zerlentes, a geography instructor at Front Range Community College, had a 6-4 record and won a regional Golden Gloves in 2002, said Jeanne DePriest, chief of officials for Colorado Golden Gloves and the manager of the team with which Zerlentes boxed, Hard Knocks.

She had taken a break from boxing after that win, but then recently resumed the sport, DePriest said.

"This is hard for us," DePriest said. "Everybody in the world loved Becky; she was a very positive woman. Boxing is a one-on-one in the ring, but we are all a team at Hard Knocks."

USA Boxing is the sanctioning body for amateur boxing. The organization lifted its ban on women in 1993 and currently has 2,200 women as registered participants.

There's been more interest in women's boxing in recent years, thanks in part to the success of boxers like Muhammad Ali's daughter, Laila, and the Academy Award-winning movie "Million Dollar Baby" with Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.

Goldsticker said the last death at a USA Boxing event was in February 2001, when heavyweight Quinton Grier, 31, of Springfield, Ill., died after a match.

In June 2003, a 30-year-old Florida mother, Stacy Young, died after she was beaten into a coma during a "Toughman" boxing competition that she had entered on impulse. The Toughman bouts weren't considered professional boxing and weren't regulated by the state of Florida. Young's death marked the 13th related to Toughman since the event began in 1979.

According to her faculty Web site, Zerlentes received her doctorate in geography at the University of Illinois and was married in 1999. She was a one-time synchronized swimmer who took up martial arts and boxing for fun.

- USA Today