In 2021 a teenage boxer died following a bout in Montreal.
The boxer, Jeanette Zacarias Zapata, competed in Quebec just a few months after suffering a TKO loss in Mexico. In the Quebec bout she was knocked unconscious and taken to hospital where she died 5 days later.
A coroner’s report, published this week, speculated that she may have died from Second Impact Syndrome. SIS is a rare condition that can occur when an individual suffers a second brain injury before recovering from a prior brain injury. Rapid brain swelling occurs leading to often fatal results.
The coroner made several recommendations including
- That fighters should have baseline neuropsychological testing and have follow up testing after knockouts. (baseline and repeated neuropsychological testing is also supported by the Association of Ringside Physicians in their consensus concussion statement. A recommendation ignored by most athletic commissions)
- That fighters coming off a knockout loss submit a complete description of what happened, including submitting video of the fight if there is any, and a post-fight medical report before being cleared for a further bout.
- That fighters undergo neuropsychological testing as a condition of licencing.
Seperate from this I strongly encourage all people involved in combat sports to understand concussions and have meaningful concussion removal and return to sport policies in place. The ARP have published a lengthy statement on this and I, along with Carla Duran and Rose Gracie, teamed up with the ARP to create these simple and easy to understand posters on Concussion and CTE that are free for anyone who wants them.
Combat Sports Law 