Becky Zerlentes

Lexi Shelley

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Becky Zerlantes was born on July 8, 1970, in Denver Colorado. She was also an amateur boxer, martial artist, and a professor of geography and economics at Front Range Community College's Larimer County Campus. Zerlantes got a black belt in Goshin Jitsu in 1996. She had an amateur boxing career of 6 wins and 4 losses; she won regional Golden Gloves in 2002. She sadly lost her life on April 2, 2005, at 34 years old, while competing in the "Colorado State Boxing Female Championships" at the Denver Coliseum. She was knocked out in the third round by her opponent Heather Schmitz. Zerlantes fell unconscious; she never regained consciousness and sadly passed. She got hit in the left temple. Although she wore protective headgear, it didn’t stop her from receiving the damage. The good thing is that she got immediate attention from the ringside doctors; the cause of her loss of consciousness and death was blunt force trauma to the head. There are full videos on YouTube about the fight, and you can watch the fatal punch that Heather threw. It is believed that Becky Zerlantes was the first female boxer to die in a legal fight since US boxing authorities admitted women to the sport. The fight was going to be where she had retired from the sport. Zerlantes had many hobbies, including martial arts, boxing, synchronized swimming, and ice skating. She also had a loving husband who was an economics professor, Dr. Stephen Weiler.