Boxer Blackwell wakes from induced coma, speaking to family

LONDON — Nick Blackwell’s promoters say the boxer has woken after a week in an induced coma since a British middleweight title fight and he is speaking to family members.

Blackwell collapsed soon after the end of the March 26 fight against Chris Eubank Jnr, which was stopped in the 10th round.

Promotion company Hennessy Sports says the bleeding was “outside the brain — on the skull, in fact — and was minor enough for there to be no need to operate.”

The statement adds that Blackwell woke from the coma on Saturday after sedatives were gradually reduced and by the following day he was talking to family and friends.

Hennessy Sports says “it was the outcome everyone had been hoping and praying for; Nick had won his toughest fight yet.”