Female Boxer Dies After Bout

A woman who won a regional boxing title three years ago died from a head injury sustained in a Golden Gloves competition. She is believed to be the first woman to die in a sanctioned amateur match in the U.S.

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, but 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.

The fatal blow, captured by CBS station KCNC-TV, shows a right hook landing on Zerlentes' left temple.

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

Detectives from the Denver Police Department were reviewing videotape of the boxing match and so far detectives say nothing looks out of the ordinary.

"I am looking for at what point the fight was stopped," said Det. Tyrone Campbell. "I would have to review it a little further but at the time I don't see anything glaring."

Interviewed by the station shortly after the fight and before Zerlentes died, Schmitz said she felt horrible.

"You know, you don't go in there with the idea 'I want to hurt this person,' you go in there with the idea 'I want to win,'" Schmitz said.

"She came up to me, introduced herself, I introduced myself. She seemed friendly intelligent, respectful woman and we were friends instantly," Schmitz told KCNC.

Zerlentes, who had a 6-4 record, was married. She worked at as an instructor at Front Range Community College in Larimer County, teaching economics and geography.

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

Zerlentes had won a regional Golden Gloves in 2002, said Jeanne ePriest, 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.

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.