Referee Jimmy Villers collapses, alert after defibrillator used on his chest

Referee Villers collapses on way out of ring

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Boxing referee Jimmy Villers collapsed on his way to the locker room Saturday night after a bout on the undercard of Kelly Pavlik’s middleweight title defense against Miguel Espino.

Villers had just officiated Miguel Angel Garcia’s featherweight victory against Yogli Herrera at the Beeghly Center on the campus of Youngstown State University when he collapsed with what appeared to be a heart attack.

Medical personnel used a defibrillator and strapped oxygen to his face, and Villers was awake and alert when he was placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.

A cardiologist sitting near the ring helped take care of Villers, a former boxer.