Heartbroken Joe Calzaghe reveals his mother, 66, died amid fears she caught coronavirus in hospital when she went in for a heart problem in February
- Former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Calzaghe’s mum has died
- Calzaghe fears his mum died after contracting the coronavirus in hospital
- Jacqueline, 66, went into hospital for treatment for a heart problem in February
- She is understood to have been treated at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
Heartbroken champion boxer Joe Calzaghe’s mum has died – and he fears she may have died after contracted coronavirus when she fell ill in hospital.
Former world heavyweight champ Joe, 48, said mum Jacqueline, 66, went into hospital for treatment for a heart problem in February – but later suffered pneumonia.
Jacqueline is understood to have been treated at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, Wales – which has seen the one of the highest infection rate in the UK outside of London.
Devastate Joe lost his trainer father Enzo died in 2018 aged 68 and said it was ‘sink or swim’ for families struggling with losing loved ones.
Heartbroken Joe Calzaghe (left) has revealed his mother Jacqueline (right) has died – and the former heavyweight champion believes she contracted the coronavirus in hospital
The father-of-two has been holed up at his home in Blackwood, Gwent, since lockdown began.
He said: ‘I know it’s really bad what’s going on with the pandemic, but you either sink or swim.
‘I really miss my dad, and I lost my mum earlier this year.
‘She had a bad heart. She went into hospital, this was two days after her birthday, seemed to be recovering and all of a sudden she got pneumonia in the hospital.
‘She went down so quick. I’m not sure if it was coronavirus, but it could have been.
Calzaghe (right) kisses his mother on the forehead as he paid tribute following her death
‘But she was heartbroken when my dad died and never felt the same about life. They were inseparable.’
Boxer Joe became a two-weight world champion in an undefeated 46-fight career as a professional.
He was trained by father Enzo, who had no experience as a trainer before coaching his son – but also led Gavin Rees and Enzo Maccarinelli to world titles.