Nick Blackwellhas regained consciousness after doctors told his family he might never wake up after an ill-advised sparring session.
The boxer returned to the ring despite being left in a coma following his fight with Chris Eubank Jr in March,the Mirror reports. He suffered a bleed on the brain and was rushed to hospital where doctors removed part of his skull to relieve the pressure.
The former British champion's family were informed he might be left paralysed, whether he woke up at all.[br]But on Thursday night, and friend Chantelle Pong posted on Facebook : "A few days ago we had the Christmas miracle we've been wanting so badly to happen.[br]"We walked into the hospital expecting to see Nick staring blankly at us but instead he was watching telly and really trying to win words out to talk to people now that his breathing ventilator has been taken out completely!
"He looks just like himself again and is very smiley.
"We knew he could hear us talking to him when he was asleep and this is the one thing we kept saying - 'just wake up before Christmas.”
"He's still got a very long way to recede to recover to his full potential but we know he will finish it."
Blackwell collapsed after losing the brutal fight against Eubank Jr but eventually recovered.
He retired as a result of his injuries but returned to the ring with sparring partner Hasan Karkardi.
Karkardi has since been suspended.
Source: tert.am