Anthony Yarde hopes to use the grief he has experienced during the coronavirus pandemic as ‘fuel’ in his bid to become a world champion.
The Londoner has been struck by tragedy during the crisis, losing his father and paternal grandmother to the virus just days apart from each other.
The 28-year-old had been preparing for a bout against Arthur Lyndon on the Daniel Dubois vs Joe Joyce undercard, a fight which has been moved back to July at the earliest.
Having come up just short in his first world title challenge against Sergey Kovalev last August, Yarde is trying to find ways to move forward.
"I know where I want to get to in this sport," he told the Daily Mail.
"You need to mourn, you need to be upset, to give yourself time to replenish. Then you use it all as fuel to get stronger. I'll get stronger. I want to make all my family proud, particularly my mum Sonia. Ninety per cent of everything I do is for her, but this has all added to that drive."
Yarde's attempts to turn his thoughts towards the ring have not been easy but he maintains it is the best way to cope in trying circumstances.
"It has been stressful. People cannot be around to comfort each other," he added.
"I am still mourning, really. For me, it has been important to get back focused on boxing.
"I have been going for a lot of bike rides or runs, exercising indoors. I have been watching a lot of comedy films, anything really that keeps your mind off it, but training helps most with that, knowing I have a job to do."
