Becky Zerlentes - the first female boxer to die in fight in US

April 3, 2005. It's 02:00 in Washington.

Stephan Weiler is woken by a "dreaded call". A voice said: "Is Becky Zerlentes your wife?'

"I said 'yes', and the official from Denver Health Medical Center and Hospital told me I need to get to the airport as quickly as possible. Her condition was deteriorating."

Up until that day, a female boxer in the United States had never died in a sanctioned fight.

In succumbing to that devastating blow, Zerlentes - who three years previously won a regional boxing title - had rewritten history.

While the tales of fighters like Johnny Owen and Jimmy Doyle

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 are enshrined in history, the impact of Zerlentes' death on the community in Denver and on those who loved her has remained private.

Zerlentes' love affair with combat sports defined her life, an overwhelming rush every time she stepped inside the confines of a boxing ring or MMA cage.Like most amateur fighters, 34-year-old Zerlentes embraced a career away from the ropes, working as a geography and economics instructor at Front Range Community College's Larimer County campus, earning a master's and PhD.

The buzz she enjoyed inside the classroom was complemented by her love of sport, especially in combat.

On that fight night, Weiler continued his three-year stay at the Federal Reserve, the country's central banking system.

He had constantly been asked by Zerlentes to return to Fort Collins, the former military outpost nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and promised he soon would.

Facing Heather Schmitz, Zerlentes was taking part in the Colorado State Boxing Senior Female Championships at the Denver Coliseum in Colorado, a venue that has crammed more than 10,000 people in when the Rolling Stones or Rage Against the Machine have been in town. Both women wore protective headgear. 

For two rounds Zerlentes worked, trading punches with Schmitz until the third.

With a blow to the head, just above her left eye, Zerlentes staggered forward, struck the canvas and fell unconscious - a state she would remain in until her death the following morning.

"The doctor in the ring said her pupils were fixed and dilated when he saw her first and already there was a chance that brain damage had occurred," Weiler, now a professor, said.

By 06:30 Weiler was on a flight to Denver and immediately made his way to the hospital. There he saw Zerlentes.

"The amount of damage to Becky's brain was remarkable given that it was a fairly glancing blow," he said.

"It was not a hard hit... but the brain had become bruised to such an extent that it could no longer operate."

The life support Zerlentes had been placed on was beginning to fail, and that "clinically she was probably already dead in the ring", Weiler recalled.

And then he had to make a choice.

"At about noon that morning, the decision was made, knowing that her condition was deteriorating, I made the choice that it was time, as I knew the window for organ donation, which Becky so fervently supported, was closing," he said.

The reaction to her death was immediate.

Tributes flooded in across Denver. Colleagues, students and others who knew Zerlentes described the warmth and tenacity of one of the college and community's pillars.The situation with youngsters and long-term health implications is an obvious issue in American football. In 2016, a group of retired players who had suffered brain damage received a $1bn (£700m) settlement from the NFL.

With huge collisions occurring regularly throughout matches, the sport's links to brain trauma and associated conditions are becoming more substantial. The NFL reported a 17% decrease in concussions in the 2024 season but studies suggest just three concussions can have a lasting impact.

Boxers deal with similar trauma. World title challenger Heather Hardy was forced to retirelast year because she was suffering from severe symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

CTE is a brain condition linked to repeated blows to the head and concussion. The condition, which gradually gets worse over time and leads to dementia, can only be diagnosed post-mortem.

In February, Irishman John Cooney died because of injuries he sustained in a boxing fight in Belfast.

"The wealth these guys [American football and boxing stars] accumulate is extraordinary. But is it worth a lifetime of dementia and depression and suicidal thoughts?" Weiler said.

"I guess everyone should make that call themselves, but they should be making that call fully aware of what the risks are."

Lavelle agrees.

"While it's sad, it's not all totally uncomfortable, because it's my reality," she said.

"There needs to be some education for the athletes coming in so they know about the risks - so they are more aware of what they're getting themselves into.

"I don't think that's done. It's all just bravado and toughness."