An 18-year-old boxer died after a knockout in Montreal. The fight should've never happened

At the extremity of the 4th circular successful a six-round combat connected Aug. 28, 2021, Jeanette Zacarias Zapata went into convulsions.

A near uppercut and a close hook from her hostile were among the drawstring of punches that had go excessively overmuch to flooded for the 18-year-old Mexican boxer.

Her trainer, on-site paramedics and a doc assigned to the lawsuit rushed into the ringing to assistance her arsenic she laic unconscious astatine Montreal's IGA stadium.

It was Zapata's sixth — and past — nonrecreational fight. She died 5 days aboriginal astatine Sacré-Coeur-de-Montréal Hospital.

Her decease came 3 and a fractional months aft she had suffered a concussion successful a knockout nonaccomplishment successful her location country.

"This interrogation is truly hard for me," Irene Zapata, the deceased boxer's mother, told Radio-Canada's Enquête investigative team, portion sitting adjacent to her hubby wrong their location successful Aguascalientes, Mexico. 

Holding backmost tears proved to beryllium a astir intolerable task. 

"It's been truly hard without her," said the grieving mother. "I mislaid my daughter, my friend, my confidante."

During the interview, Enquête shared accusation it had uncovered astir their daughter's death. It provided the mates with their daughter's radiology study that helped guarantee the combat successful Montreal went ahead.

It was a fake document.

"I'm traumatized," said the boxer's father. "I can't judge it."

Shortly aft Jeanette was hospitalized successful Montreal, Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM), a well-known boxing promoter that acceptable up that fight, said the boxer had undergone neurological exams fixed that she had been knocked retired successful her erstwhile fight.

In 2023, a Quebec coroner ruled that the young woman's decease was accidental and whitethorn person been precipitated by Second Impact Syndrome (SIS). SIS occurs erstwhile radical acquisition a 2nd caput wounded earlier afloat recovering from the first.

A deeper look reveals respective much layers to Jeanette's decease that spell good beyond the punches that were landed during the bout.

A doc nary 1 knows

The Quebec liquor and gaming authorization that sanctions prize fights, the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (RACJ), claimed it recovered thing retired of the mean erstwhile it stamped that radiology study conscionable days earlier the fight. 

But according to respective experts Radio-Canada consulted, the study had an antithetic conclusion.

"The diligent is successful cleanable health, which allows her to instrumentality portion successful utmost sports," it reads, contempt the information that the boxer suffered a concussion successful her erstwhile combat successful May of that year.

These kinds of reports don't typically measurement successful connected a patient's abilities and alternatively instrumentality to highlighting anomalies oregon injuries connected a scan.

The papers was signed by a radiologist named Estela Jimenez Ochoa. 

It had the letterhead of a session successful Aguascalientes, the 18-year-old fighter's hometown (the metropolis is besides located successful a authorities that bears the aforesaid name). But the day connected the study — Aug. 15, 2021, conscionable nether 2 weeks earlier the fatal boxing lucifer — fell connected a Sunday.

An online hunt shows the session is ever closed connected Sundays. This was confirmed with both a telephone telephone and a sojourn to the session soon aft arriving successful Mexico connected a Sunday. 

When the Enquête squad returned to the session the pursuing day, nary 1 contiguous knew who Estela Jimenez Ochoa was.

As acold arsenic the caput of the session was concerned, the papers was fake — an sentiment besides shared by Dr. Anabel Cervantes, the president of the radiologists' relation for the authorities of Aquascalientes.

"This doctor, Estela Jimenez Ochoa, doesn't beryllium successful our database, neither astatine the authorities oregon metropolis level," she said.

The licence fig astatine the bottommost of the document? It turns retired it belonged to an accountant. 

'It outgo this young pistillate her life'

The forged radiology papers is not the lone crushed Jeanette was fixed the greenish airy to combat successful Montreal contempt the concussion she suffered 3 months prior.

Dr. Juan Carlos Sanchez, the doc for the Aguascalientes boxing commission, had to capable retired a mandatory questionnaire for the RACJ. 

Prior to landing successful Montreal, Jeanette consulted with Sanchez connected astatine slightest 2 occasions, Radio-Canada found. 

On May 18, 2021, conscionable 4 days aft her brutal knockout nonaccomplishment successful Mexico months anterior to her death, Jeanette met the boxing commission's doc with encephalon scans that had been taken astatine a hospital.

Enquête was capable to get the 2 sets of scans aft some fights — the ones Jeanette would've shown Sanchez during that visit, and the ones that were completed astatine Sacré-Coeur-de-Montréal Hospital conscionable earlier she died.

Each aesculapian specializer consulted for this communicative agreed that the images captured astatine the infirmary successful Mexico successful May 2021 showed a heavy damaged brain. 

Cervantes, the caput of the radiologists' relation successful Aguascalientes, agreed and adjacent went a measurement further: Jeanette had nary concern stepping ft successful a ringing again aft her nonaccomplishment successful Mexico. 

Sanchez, however, simply told the boxer to remainder for a fewer weeks. He saw her again during the summer, aft she had received an invitation from the GYM promotion company.

It was for a combat against Quebecer Marie-Pier Houle.

Around this time, Jeanette was inactive experiencing concussion symptoms, according to her parents.

"She already had aggravated pain. She complained a batch astir her head," her parent Irene recalled. 

But Sanchez made nary notation of these symptoms successful the RACJ questionnaire. There's besides nary notation of the seriousness of her erstwhile injuries.

"It's an incomplete aesculapian report," said Cervantes. "He omitted important accusation and it outgo this young pistillate her life."

Sanchez had agreed to an interrogation for this communicative but backed retired conscionable a fewer hours earlier it was scheduled to instrumentality place. He past stopped answering all of Enquête's calls and messages.

Jeanette's household wasn't contiguous during the appointments with Sanchez. She went determination with her coach.

"Believe me, had I realized… that her encephalon had not afloat recovered… I wouldn't person fto her leave," Estaban Zacarias, Jeanette's father, said portion wiping tears from his eyes.

"What a nightmare."

Aguascalientes boxing committee defends Sanchez

Enquête met with Jeanette's coach, Luis Cruz, and showed him the forged radiology report. 

"I don't remember. I person a hard clip remembering," helium said, but added that helium specifically recalls that encephalon scans were done, but it was successful a antithetic session than the 1 mentioned connected the document. 

He was besides shown the RACJ questionnaire filled retired by Dr. Sanchez that didn't see details astir Jeanette's wounded history. 

"I don't cognize wherefore helium didn't enactment that in. He's a doctor, not a charlatan," Cruz said, portion emphasizing connected respective occasions during the interrogation that helium himself had done thing wrong.

Arturo Muñoz, the president of the Aguascalientes boxing commission, defended Sanchez. 

"I can't archer you if the doc made a mistake. I don't cognize what happened oregon wherefore helium didn't see that information," helium said.

As for the forged radiology report, Muñoz said helium was amazed and that helium had ne'er seen oregon heard astir it. 

He was not the boxing commission's president astatine the clip of Jeanette's death. His predecessor, Christian Garduno, emphatically refused to talk with Enquête.

Jeanette's encephalon scans successful Quebec

Stéphane Ledoux doesn't similar boxing, but the neurologist has watched footage of Jeanette's last combat hundreds of times, successful hopes of knowing what happened.

"The images are perpetually swirling successful my head," helium said. "This is an 18-year-old pistillate that had her full beingness up of her."

He had begun his ain probe into her death. Lacking resources, answers and incapable to get the scan performed connected Jeanette's encephalon during her infirmary enactment successful Quebec, Ledoux reached retired to Enquête, and that's a large crushed wherefore this communicative came together.

With her family's approval, Enquête was capable to get Jeanette's encephalon scans from the Montreal infirmary wherever she died. 

They showed the aforesaid injuries arsenic the scans successful Mexico — but worse. In some cases, the close broadside of the encephalon was damaged, with sizeable inflammation compressing the near side, the midline had deviated toward the near and determination was bleeding successful the abstraction betwixt the encephalon and the skull connected the right. 

"Based connected these images, we tin accidental without immoderate uncertainty that successful the lawsuit of a important stroke to the skull, this idiosyncratic was astatine hazard of superior neurological complications, including death," said Ledoux.

The neurologists ever scoffed astatine the thought of Jeanette's decease being accidental. Now, helium says, there's definitive proof.

"It was highly preventable," helium said. 

Another fake study — this clip for different boxer

Enquête shared its findings with the RACJ, Quebec's liquor and gaming authority. 

In a statement, the provincial bureau expressed implicit shock. 

"We are floored by the accusation that you person brought to our attention," wrote RACJ spokesperson Joyce Tremblay. 

"In airy of the gravity of the situation, we person instantly started a verification of the aesculapian documents."

Giovanni Flores Martinez, different Mexican boxer who fought during the aforesaid lawsuit successful Montreal, besides had a radiological study signed by the aforesaid fictional radiologist from Aguascalientes whose sanction appears connected Jeanette's.

The RACJ, which is portion of Quebec's Public Security Ministry, declined repeated requests for interviews. Public Security Minister François Bonnardel besides declined to beryllium interviewed.

'Totally irresponsible'

GYM, the Quebec boxing promoter, translated Jeanette's radiology study and sent it to the RACJ successful the lead-up to the combat successful Montreal.

Yvon Michel, the president and laminitis of the promotion institution that bears his name, says the due process was followed.

He was inactive convinced that her decease was accidental — that is, until Enquête revealed its findings to him during an interview. 

"This is irresponsible, wholly irresponsible," Michel said, reacting to the information that Jeanette's aesculapian past was not included successful the RACJ questionnaire.

Then, there's the information that the radiology study was fake.

"They cheated. They enactment her successful the ring. It's transgression what these radical did," said Michel.

Questions stay astir whose work it was to marque definite that Jeanette was steadfast capable to fight. As acold arsenic the RACJ is concerned, it's up to the promoter to marque definite fighters are acceptable to fight. 

"We are going to inquire organizers to beryllium much cautious erstwhile it comes to the authenticity of submitted documents," the liquor and gaming authorization said successful a statement.

However, Michel says promoters assistance overseas boxers get their documents to the RACJ, but it's not up to them to authenticate them.

"Medical documents, we don't work those. I can't measure if a boxer is successful bully health," helium said.

"I tin measure their level of acquisition but I can't measure a papers that a doc filled retired for a boxer. That's neither my competence nor my responsibility."

With files from Daphnée Hacker-B, Paloma Martinez Mendez, Benoit Michaud, Franciszek Czyzowicz and translated by CBC's Antoni Nerestant