DENVER - It was the kind of blow that occurs thousands of times in boxing matches across the country: In the third round of a women's bout, Becky Zerlentes took a shot to the head above her left eye, then staggered forward and fell to the canvas.Posted on 04/05/2005 8:21:29 PM PDT by crushelits
DENVER - It was the kind of blow that occurs thousands of times in boxing matches across the country: In the third round of a women's bout, Becky Zerlentes took a shot to the head above her left eye, then staggered forward and fell to the canvas.
Only this time, Zerlentes never regained consciousness and died, becoming the first female boxer to die in a sanctioned event.
The death stunned those who knew Zerlentes, a 34-year-old college instructor remembered as a fun-loving, adventurous person who had a particular fondness for sports.
"This is so much more than about boxing," said Mary Croissant, who taught with Zerlentes at Front Range Community College. "She was the Energizer Bunny of our campus. She was turbo woman. She had a smile and a light in her heart that touched everyone she came in contact with. I miss her. I need her to still be alive."
Zerlentes, who held a Ph.D in geography, rode her bike everywhere and chided those who wouldn't drive to work together because it wasted energy. She organized group walks for the faculty, urging everyone to pick up trash along the way. A massage therapist, she asked that friends donate money to charity instead of paying her.
Zerlentes also had a brown belt in taekwondo and enjoyed boxing, which led her to compete in the Colorado Golden Gloves event on Saturday night. She died the next afternoon of what the coroner ruled blunt force trauma.
Though the number of female boxers is still relatively low — 2,200 are currently registered — interest in the sport has gradually increased since USA Boxing lifted its ban on women's boxing in 1993. The success of boxers like Muhammad Ali's daughter, Laila, and the Academy Award-winning film "Million Dollar Baby" has put the sport more into the mainstream, as did the brief forays into the ring by B-list celebrities like former figure skater Tonya Harding and pinup model Mia St. John.
While women's boxing isn't likely to ever come close to reaching the status of the men's side — the sport is a longshot to be added for the 2008 Beijing Olympics — any increase raises the chances that women are going to get hurt or killed in the ring.
"The USA Boxing family's thoughts and prayers go out to Becky's family and husband. We are deeply saddened by this loss," said Sandy Martinez-Pino, president of USA Boxing, the national sanctioning body for amateur boxing.
The organization adheres to the same safety requirements for women as it does men: Boxers are required to go through pre- and post-bout physicals and they must wear headgear. A certified doctor also must be ringside at every event and all bouts are tracked in a "passbook," which records the outcome of the bout and the health of the athlete. Opponents are matched based on skill and experience in weight classes.
The last death at a USA Boxing event came in February 2001, when heavyweight Quinton Grier died of a heart ailment after a match. Juan Silva III was the last fighter to die as result of in-ring injuries in May 2000.
Overall, boxing ranks eighth in fatality rates for all sports — 1.3 deaths per 100,000 competitors, according to the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
It's still unclear what happened to Zerlentes in her match against Heather Schmitz. Autopsy results are still pending and Denver police said Tuesday no charges are likely.
Not that it matters all that much to those who knew Zerlentes.
Married to Colorado State economics professor Stephan Weiler, she taught everything from economics to swimming at Front Range. An accomplished athlete, she had competed in triathlons, synchronized swimming, kickboxing and had a black belt in Goshin Jitsu, as well as brown belts in several other martial arts.
A regional Golden Gloves champion in 2002, she recently picked up the sport again, fighting out of Hard Knocks Boxing Gym in Milliken.
But again, her life was much more than what she accomplished in a classroom or in an arena. Acquaintances said she could turn around a bad day with a quick smile or hug.
She once agreed to attend a dinner for the school's gay/straight alliance because it was a chance to meet people and wound up becoming an advocate for the group. She also was a guiding influence for Croissant, the colleague at the school.
"We're like bewildered zombies walking around," said Croissant, who knew Zerlentes for six years. "It's going to be really hard. I don't think we know right now how much we're really going to miss her. She was the linchpin in our lives."
Spare us.
If so it'll just be another on the now fairly long list of new and ridiculous Olympic "sports."
Female boxing is as much a waste as t!#ts on a wh#@*re.
No boxing--this is NCAA:
Catastrophic-injury research
Direct injuries
The number of direct injuries per 100,000 participants for college sports from 1982-83 through 1995-96:
Male
Sport -- Fatalities -- Nonfatal -- Serious
Baseball -- 0.68 -- 0.00 -- 0.34
Basketball -- 0.00 -- 0.54 -- 1.09
Cross country -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Football -- 0.48 -- 1.71 -- 5.81
Gymnastics -- 0.00 -- 27.44 -- 9.14
Ice hockey -- 0.00 -- 5.49 -- 5.49
Lacrosse -- 0.00 -- 1.45 -- 2.91
Skiing -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Soccer -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.48
Swimming -- 0.00 -- 0.91 -- 0.00
Tennis -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Track -- 0.43 -- 0.43 -- 0.64
Wrestling -- 0.00 -- 0.98 -- 0.00
Female
Sport -- Fatalities -- Nonfatal -- Serious
Basketball -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Cross country -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Field hockey -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 1.39
Gymnastics -- 0.00 -- 9.13 -- 0.00
Ice hockey -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Lacrosse -- 0.00 -- 2.34 -- 0.00
Skiing -- 14.13 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Soccer -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Softball -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Swimming -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Tennis -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Track -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Wrestling -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Indirect injuries
The number of indirect injuries per 100,000 participants for college sports from 1982-83 through 1995-96:
Male
Sport -- Fatalities -- Nonfatal -- Serious
Baseball -- 0.68 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Basketball -- 5.98 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Cross country -- 0.74 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Football -- 2.19 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Gymnastics -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Ice hockey -- 1.83 -- 1.83 -- 0.00
Lacrosse -- 1.45 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Skiing -- 9.49 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Soccer -- 0.97 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Swimming -- 2.74 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Tennis -- 0.92 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Track -- 0.21 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Water polo -- 6.81 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Wrestling -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Female
Sport -- Fatalities -- Nonfatal -- Serious
Basketball -- 0.64 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Cross country -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Gymnastics -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Ice hockey -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Lacrosse -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Skiing -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Soccer -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Softball -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Swimming -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Tennis -- 0.97 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Track -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Water polo -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
Wrestling -- 0.00 -- 0.00 -- 0.00
I don't get it, Templar.
Not anymore . . .
I personally have always hated boxing in particular. Watching two people with broken noses and damaged brains trying to pound each other into oblivion is not my thing. It is particularly unseemly to me for women to be doing this mostly for the sake of telling men "nyah, nyah, nyah, we can do ANYTHING you can do". I realize it's supposed to be a free country, and women's libbers have pushed hard to gain all this "liberation" for women.
I better start encouraging my kids to take up a sport besides skiing. Yikes!
Skiing is not kind to either gender.
More specifically, trees and rocks encountered while skiing are not kind to either gender. Neither is "large wave of snow coming off mountain at 80mph."
Have you ever seen Christy Martin or Leila Ali fight? Those girls are real boxers. As a boxing fan, they impressed me. There are some women who can do anything as well as men can, even boxing.
A PhD and she steps into a ring to let people cause TBI.
Smart.
Sad.
Frankly, the best female boxers are about as talented as marginally skilled male amateurs. And the latter would quickly dispose of the former in any bout of equal weight due to the conspicuous differences in strength and quickness.
"And the latter would quickly dispose of the former in any bout of equal weight due to the conspicuous differences in strength and quickness."
Well, yeah, but only because you won't let us bite, scratch, kick, and bend pinky-fingers backwards. :D
Sure, but it is still more entertaining than women's basketball..... The problem is that there are not enough female boxers yet. And, I do disagree, Laila Ali is a brawler. She has dominated all of her fights. Agreed, the competition is meek, but she knocked Christy Martin out in four rounds. 20-0 is a great record in boxing, regardless of your sex.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
To watch two woman hit each other is simply disgusting.
To pretend they are boxers is nonsense.
Amen!
And no man should want to watch it.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
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