Montreal boxer Kim Clavel tests positive for COVID, championship fight postponed

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Quebec boxing suffered another setback Monday when Kim Clavel tested positive for COVID-19 only days before her scheduled championship bout in Montreal.

As a result, boxing promoter Yvon Michel announced the World Boxing Council flyweight championship scheduled for Thursday at the Casino de Montréal has been postponed.

On Twitter, Michel said he learned of Clavel contracting the virus late Sunday night. He described her symptoms as “pretty virulent.”

“We are staying in touch with her and sending all the positive vibes we have for her to recover quickly,” Michel wrote.

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“Kim was on the line with Stéphan (Larouche) and Danielle (Bouchard, her coaches) and I felt right away that she felt like she was letting us down,” Michel said in an interview.

“I wanted to reassure her right away. It’s nobody’s fault. I know that she and her team have all been very careful throughout the preparation. I told her to take care of her health from her. That is the priority.”

An outbreak of COVID-19 has affected a few members of Clavel’s team, including Bouchard, who was infected a few weeks ago and immediately isolated herself from the group.

“All we hope is that it is not the long COVID — that after 10 days, Kim is in good enough shape to resume her activities,” Michel said.

“It’s not a joke. A weakened Kim, in bed, feverish — we do not see that often,” Bouchard said in an interview.

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“When I spoke to her (Monday morning) she told me she wouldn’t have been able to train in the afternoon. How could she think she could have done it? But that’s Kim Clavel. She was disappointed not to be able to train today.”

A gala scheduled for Thursday has been canceled as well. The other five scheduled fights will be rescheduled on the May 5 card, featuring Eleider Alvarez, or at a later date.

Clavel (15–0, 3 KOs) was scheduled to face Mexico’s Yesenia Gomez (19–5–3, 6 KOs) for the 108-pound title. A new date for that fight has not been determined yet.

Michel said Clavel will not be able to fight before the month of June.

This is the third time the fight has had to be rescheduled. In November, Clavel was injured in training. In January, Gomez wanted more time to prepare for the fight, while members of her team had contracted the virus.

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However, Gomez was critical of Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) on social media.

“I’m sorry for Clavel if it’s true that she has COVID,” she wrote in response to Michel’s announcement on Twitter. “I just found out this morning when I was already at the airport. I don’t understand why we weren’t warned. It’s not a game.”

The pandemic continues to shake up the Quebec boxing world. Four galas scheduled in March 2020 were canceled when the pandemic hit. Boxing events were then sidelined for several months. Eye of the Tiger Management presented galas in Shawinigan and Rimouski in October and November 2020, but GYM did not resume operations until March 2021.

“Kim’s clan couldn’t avoid the outbreak that hit the gymnasium,” Michel said, adding that it was clear another wave of the pandemic was breaking in Quebec.

“When I heard the news yesterday, I was not surprised. These are the times we’re living in. We have to deal with that.”