Teenage boxer dies days after being knocked out in fight

An 18-year-old Mexican boxer has died after being knocked unconscious during a fight in Canada.

Jeanette Zacarias Zapata had to be carried out of the ring on a stretcher after her match in Montreal on Saturday night.

The referee had stopped the fight after she received a number of blows from Quebec boxer Marie-Pier Houle at the end of the fourth round of a six-round fight.

Footage shows her suffering convulsions and falling unconscious shortly after the fight was stopped.

The event's promoter, Groupe Yvon Michel, announced the death late on Thursday, saying she had died at around 3.45pm.

"We would like to offer our most sincere condolences to her family, loved ones, friends and especially her husband, Jovanni Martinez, who was at her bedside until her last moments," the statement said.

"Jovanni is devastated and extremely upset."

Yvon Michel, president of Groupe Yvon Michel, reportedly said earlier this week that Zapata had undergone neurological exams to get permission to take part in the Montreal fight because she had been knocked out in a match last May in Mexico.

The boxing promoter said in a briefing on Sunday, a day after the Montreal fight, that Zapata was placed in a medically induced coma, adding that the following days would be "critical".

Houle reportedly expressed her own best wishes for Zapata shortly after the fight.

"Never, ever, is the intention of seriously injuring an opponent in my plans," she said.

"My sincere thoughts go to my opponent, Jeannette Zacarias Zapata, as well as to her family. I wish with all my heart that she will recover."

The World Boxing Council added its condolences, saying: "The president of the WBC, Mauricio Sulaimán and the entire boxing family affiliated with the WBC, as well as all boxing, mourns this irreparable loss.

"We send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jeanette. May she rest in peace."