Light-heavyweight contender, Anthony Yarde has revealed that his grandmother has passed away from coronavirus.This is a tragic week for the boxer from London on the whole, as this is the second family member he has lost to the virus.Yarde’s father passed last Sunday.Yarde (19-1, 18 KOs) took his bitter despair to social media and had an important message for the rest of the world about coronavirus.“We have now lost my nana to this virus; my dad and his mother have passed days apart. It’s serious! People are still going out when they don’t need to.“I know there’s a lot of opinions about COVID-19, and I have mine, but I just know opinions ain’t worth risking your life and others. Just stay home. RIP Dad 27-3-20. RIP Nana 4-2-20. My heart really goes out to all the people suffering in different ways.”Yarde also said how, if the people could take one thing from his tweet, it should be that it is so important to stay home and follow the government guidelines.The virus has devastated many families across the world, and with health experts believing it hasn’t even peaked yet, it really is scary to think what is next.
As of April 4, the amount of worldwide cases has soared to 1,120,752 and deaths have reached 58,982.
The projected timeline for a vaccine is 12-18 months, baring that in mind it could be a long time before the virus peaks, therefore highlighting the importance of doing your bit, by staying at home and preventing the spread of coronavirus.
Despite this, Yarde’s career remains in the balance after his loss to former WBO 175-pound belt holder Sergey Kovalev, via an 11th round knockout last August in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
In the eighth round, Kovalev was on the brink of being stopped after Yarde clipped him with a hard shot. In his excitement of the moment, Yarde emptied his tank trying to finish Kovalev.
Had Yarde placed his punches better and not rushed, there was a good chance he could have knocked Kovalev out.
Making the loss even more agonizing is the fact that a win against Kovalev could have seen Yarde land the big fight with Canelo Alvarez, arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world.
The Mexican star challenged Kovalev three months after his fight with Yarde and stopped him in the 10th round last November. Most who watched that fight would argue that Yarde fought better than Canelo through most of his battle with Kovalev.
Following the defeat to Kovalev, Anthony Yarde fought Diego Jair Ramirez, a man with 49 losses to his name, and won inside two rounds- a really nothing fight.