One might conceive that all fighters are pumped at the news that more than half of all states in the U.S. are either partially re-opening or have plans to re-open after a nearly two-month shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Count featherweight contender Emilio Sanchez as one who is against the idea.

Sanchez (18-1, 11 knockouts), of Hollywood, California, wants to fight as much as the next guy, but he is more concerned about public safety than a paycheck.

“I think it is too early to re-open,” Sanchez admitted to The Ring. “Look at (the protests) across this country. People are still getting the virus, whether it’s a young person or an old person.”

John McDaniel, an anti-lockdown protester from Ohio, posted on his social media page on March 15 that COVID-19 was a “political ploy.” Exactly one month to the day of his post, he died from the virus at the age of 60.

“There’s just so much that we don’t know about this virus,” Sanchez continued. “We need to make sure we get it right because if we don’t, it could be very deadly for many people.”

The leader of a group in North Carolina that has helped organize two protests in the state calling for Gov. Roy Cooper to lift his stay-at-home order has also come down with a case of the coronavirus.

Audrey Whitlock then posted on her social media page that being quarantined violated her “1st amendment right of freedom to religion.”

In recent weeks, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum expressed interest in hosting fights in Florida, where the WWE was deemed “essential” by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.

Sanchez reiterated that he is still uncomfortable.

“I still think it’s too early.”

In 76 amateur bouts, Sanchez won the U.S. Junior National Championship in Denver in 2009, fought at the 2011 Golden Gloves, and barely missed out on making the 2012 Olympic team.

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