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Undefeated Czech atomweight Fabiana Bytyqi has become the first active boxing champion to be diagnosed with the coronavirus.
The Boxing Community comes together to wish Fabiana Bytyqi a prompt and full recovery after being diagnosed with covid-19 Coronavirus. We are sure you are going to defeat this and that you will return stronger than ever.
— Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) April 6, 2020
We are at your corner, champ!#WBC #Boxing #Family pic.twitter.com/R60AU8MXEG
Bytyqi (15-0-1, 5 KO) defeated Denise Castle for the WBC title in 2018, then defended it with a split draw against Maria Soledad Vargas. She last saw action in November, defeating multi-time world title challenger Ana Arrazola, and BoxRec has her ranked second in the division behind former WBO flyweight and current WBA atomweight champ Monserrat Alarcon.
Judging by her Instagram, she seems to be doing alright at the moment.
The Czech Republic is presently in an official state of emergency, having closed its borders on March 16th and enacted a number of anti-coronavirus measures. It is, however, eyeing a rollback of some of them later this month.
We wish Bytyqi the best of luck in her recovery and hope to see her back at full strength once the world finds its footing again.