Mexican boxer, 18, dies after knockout during match in Canada

An 18-year-old boxer from Aguascalientes died in a Montreal, Canada, hospital Thursday after she was critically injured during a match on Saturday.

Jeanette Zacarías, who was fighting for the first time outside Mexico, was hospitalized when she began having convulsions moments after she was knocked out by Canadian boxer Marie-Pier Houle.

She was put in a medically-induced coma and on Sunday her trainer said she remained in critical but stable condition. But Zacarías died a few days later.

Her opponent in the ring expressed hope for her recovery after the match. “Boxing has its risks and dangers. This is our work, our passion. [But] the intention to gravely injure my opponent was never part of my plan,” Houle said.

There has been criticism since the fight that Zacarías had returned to the ring too soon after she lost a fight in May due to a technical knockout in a scenario that was similar to what occurred in Montreal, the newspaper El País reported.

She had been boxing professionally for three years.

With reports from El País and El Universal