DeAndre Ware has a skill set that goes beyond boxing. And a life might’ve saved as a result Friday in the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
Ware, an emergency medical technician and firefighter from Toledo, Oho, reportedly performed CPR on a Top Rank coordinator believed to be in cardiac arrest shortly before the weigh-in for his fight against Steven Nelson on Saturday.
The fighter then continued to work with an onsite doctor until paramedics arrived to take Pete Susens to a hospital. Susens was responsive and communicating, a Top Rank spokesman told ESPN.
Ware tweeted: “I’m here for my fight but I had to put EMS skills to work and do some cpr. Happy to say the guy was talking a bit and was alert headed to the hospital. I’m thankful! I feel I saved a life.”
Ware, a 32-year-old super middleweight, has boxed professionally since 2014 while working full-time as a firefighter. He is scheduled to face Nelson in a 10-round bout on the Jamel Herring-Jonathan Oquendo card inside the MGM Grand “bubble” on ESPN+.
“I have to just get training in when I can on my days off,” Ware said. “They have a workout facility there at the fire station, so I can train there. They have a punching bag and a treadmill and weights and stuff, so I can work out there.”
Ware (13-2-2, 8 KOs) is 1-2 in his last three fights. He’s coming off a knockout loss to Vladimir Shishkin in August of last year.
Nelson (16-0, 13 KOs) stopped Cem Kilic in eight rounds in January. Kilic outpointed Ware in 2018.
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