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- Antony Yarde mourned the loss of four family members in six months this year.
- The British boxer said in April, after the second death — both due to the coronavirus — that COVID-19 is “serious.”
- He returns to the ring Saturday and is in a “tough fight” against the unbeaten light heavyweight fighter Lyndon Arthur, the event’s promoter Frank Warren told Insider.
- Whoever wins will be on the cusp of a world title shot at 175-pounds in 2021, said Warren.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
LONDON — Anthony Yarde returns to the ring Saturday after losing four family members in six months, and he’s thrust into a “tough fight” with an opponent who is on the cusp of a title shot.
The British light heavyweight, who came close to upsetting Sergey Kovalev in his own world championship bout last year, headlines the Frank Warren and Queensberry Promotions card at Church House in Westminster, London.
Yarde’s 175-pound bout with Lyndon Arthur comes at a time when the former has rebounded from his sole career loss to Kovalev having won two fights since, but also after he has endured great tragedy as his dad and grandparents all died in a short space of time.
In April, he called the coronavirus “serious,” as per the BBC.
“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,” he said at the time. “Just stay home.”
According to the Independent, few people will care about what has happened in his private life as fight fans want to be entertained.
"I look at other entertainers, not just boxers, as a template. If someone is a TV personality and they go through some sort of tragedy, ultimately no one cares — it passes," said Yarde.
"People don't care about excuses. Yes, that's my personal life, but in terms of my boxing, there's a job to be done."
The job Yarde has is a tough one, Queensberry promoter Frank Warren told Insider recently.
"Lyndon has a wealth of experience as an amateur, is undefeated as a pro, and has a good trainer in Pat Barrett," Warren told us.
"Anthony only had 11 fights as an amateur but we've done a great job in promoting him where we've got him into the position where he's at.
"He was five seconds away from being a world champion [against Kovalev] — he got so close. And with a bit more experience he'd have knocked him over. He'll learn from that.
"He wasn't fazed [against Kovalev]. He was up for it and gave a tremendous account of himself with everyone talking about him afterwards because he showed how game he was. How strong he is.
"But it also showed that he needed a bit more experience. He's come back, had a rest, and has had good wins over a couple of opponents.
"I know he's in a really good place despite having some really personal tragedies this year, losing four of his family, which is devastating and sad but he just wants to get back in the ring on December 5."
Warren told Insider that whoever wins Saturday's showdown puts themselves in an excellent position heading into 2021, and could include a battle of Britain bout against Joshua Buatsi providing "he has the balls."
It could even propel the winner into an eventual world title fight. "This is the cusp of the world title," Warren said.
"Both of them set themselves up for next year for a world title fight. They both think they can beat each other and that's the good thing about it.
"We're putting fights together that are quality fights," he said. "These are the best of the British."
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