Becky Zerlentes (July 8, 1970 – April 3, 2005) was a professor of geography, amateur

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, and

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

Personal life

Zerlentes was a professor of geography and economics at Front Range Community College's

Larimer County Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins. The county was named for William Larimer, Jr., the founder of Denver. ...

campus. Zerlentes earned her master's and PhD in geography at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. She had a wide variety of interests, including

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

synchronized swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

, ice skating, and academic pursuits. She was married to fellow economics professor, Dr. Stephan Weiler.

Martial arts accomplishments

Zerlentes was a black belt in Goshin Jitsu, which she earned in 1996. She often told her students that she started training with Goshin Jitsu after coming to one of the club parties. She later became the chief instructor of the club from 1998 to 1999. Zerlentes also earned a black belt in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu and was certified in Okazaki restorative massage. Zerlentes enjoyed teaching, particularly self-defense, something she believed was critical for women to learn.

Amateur boxing career

Zerlentes had a record of 6 wins and 4 losses. She won a regional

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...

in 2002.

Death

On April 2, 2005 Zerlentes was participating in the Colorado State Boxing Senior Female Championships at the Denver Coliseum in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She was

knocked out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in the third round by her opponent, Heather Schmitz, fell unconscious, and never regained consciousness. Zerlentes is the first woman known to have died of injuries sustained during a sanctioned boxing match in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. According to the

Denver County Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

Boxing Record

Zerlentes competed in

triathlons A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the d ...

and swimming, did

and had an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

boxing record of 6-4.

References

Boxers from Colorado Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing American women boxers 1970 births 2005 deaths Sports deaths in Colorado University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Lightweight boxers 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen {{US-boxing-bio-stub