ANTHONY YARDE’S dad has died from coronavirus despite having no pre-existing medical conditions, the boxing star has confirmed.
The British light-heavyweight fighter, 28, revealed the tragic news in the early hours of this morning.
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Yarde claimed his “fit” father had no prior health concerns and has now urged everyone to stay indoors to limit the spread of the killer bug.
In a statement released on Instagram, Yarde, from hackney, East London, wrote: “I’m a very private person and TBH I’m still in shock but maybe this can help people stay home.
“My Dad passed away from this virus yesterday and he was fit with no health issues.
“The more people go out and mingle the longer this isolation will last and the more it will spread.
“I’m not a doctor but I do know if you stay home you are less likely to catch it or pass it on.
“It’s seriously not worth the risk.”
On the tragic news, boxing promoter Frank Warren tweeted: “Frank Warren and everyone at Queensberry Promotions would like to express sincere condolences to Anthony Yarde and his family after the untimely passing of his father.
“Coronavirus is an issue affecting all of us, but that doesn’t make the individual casualties any less tragic.
“We hope that his fans listen to Anthony’s heartfelt plea for people to take the government’s advice seriously so we can try and minimise the suffering of others.”
Over 1,000 people have now died from Covid-19 in the UK, after more than 250 deaths were seen on Saturday.
NHS England have now claimed Britain will do “very well” to keep the death toll below 20,000 in a shocking report.
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Of the deaths, 155 have come from Yarde’s native London.
The light heavyweight star has won 19 or his 20 career fights, losing only to Sergey Kovalev last August.
He had been set to fight next at the O2 on the Joe Joyce vs Daniel Dubois undercard against Lyndon Arthur on April 11 – but that fight was called off to to the spread of the virus.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk