Boxing Tragedies: Ex-Champ Nigel Benn His Loses Brother Mark, Contender Anthony Yarde Loses Father and Grandmother to Coronavirus
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Great Britain and the world continue to get hit and hurt by the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. The emotional toll and devastation of the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus continues with long lasting effects. All amateur and professional boxing, and training in boxing gyms, is now over. Sporting events are cancelled. Crowds and groups of people can no longer congregate together, due to the dangerous spread of the airborne Coronavirus, and its far-reaching implications will forever impact the world in which we live in.
Former World Boxing Organization World Middleweight champion and World Boxing council Super Middleweight champion Nigel ‘The Dark Destroyer’ Benn, 43-5-1 with 35 knockouts, West Ham, London, United Kingdom, who was supposed to face Sakio Bika in a comeback bout last year after more than two decades retirement, a planned return bout postponed due to a shoulder injury, took another hit as his brother Mark has died of the Novel Coronavirus. “My brother Mark passed away from COVID-19. As we were growing up, mark was the joker of the (Benn) family. May he rest in peace. Love you Mark.”
Top ten worldwide British light heavyweight contender Anthony Yarde, 19-1 with 18 knockouts, East London, United Kingdom, who unsuccessfully challenged Sergey Kovalev for the World Boxing Organization World Light Heavyweight title in August 2019, also a WBO European and WBO Inter-Continental regional titleholder, became the second noteworthy British boxer to take a coronavirus family hit. His grandmother died of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus, and days afterwards his father died of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. This was the worst such emotional hit since former Italian and European cruiserweight champion Angelo Rottoli died along with his mother and brother in Italy from the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus.
Discussing his double family tragedy in a post on Twitter, Yarde noted his dad passed away after previously experiencing no known health problems. “We have now lost my nanna 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 (the) COVID-19 (Coronavirus), and I have mine. But I just know opinions ain’t worth risking your life and others. Just stay home. RIP (Rest in Peace) Dad. RIP (Rest in Peace). Nana. My heart really goes out to all the people (around the world) suffering in different ways (from Coronavirus).” On behalf of Real Combat Media, we express condolences to both fighters for their family losses.
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