Eubank's relief as Nick Blackwell wakes from coma

Nick Blackwell, the boxer who sustained serious head injuries in the ring last week, has woken from an induced coma.

"The middleweight fighter regained consciousness on Saturday and a day later was well enough to begin talking to family and friends at his bedside," reports The Guardian.

"It was the outcome everyone had been hoping and praying for," Blackwell's promoter, Mick Hennessy, said. "Nick had won his toughest fight yet."

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Hennessey also revealed that the boxer's injuries were not as severe as had been feared. In place of the reported bleeding on the brain, Blackwell suffered a bleed on the skull and the damage was "minor enough for there to be no need to operate".

However, the 25-year-old remains at St Mary's Hospital in London and it is unclear how long his convalescence will take.

Fight referee Victor Loughlin has been criticised for failing to stop the match sooner, after it became apparent that Blackwell had been seriously hurt in the title showdown against Chris Eubank Jr at Wembley Arena on 26 March.

"Eubank's father repeatedly banged on the canvas in a bid to attract referee Loughlin's attention and later said he felt the fight should have been stopped much earlier," says the Daily Mail.

However, British Boxing Board of Control general secretary Robert Smith defended the handling of the fight. "Every boxer who gets into a boxing ring knows the risks," he said. "People can have their opinions and hindsight is 20/20 vision, but I don't think anybody did anything wrong."

Eubank Jr expressed delight that Blackwell had been woken and asked if he could visit him in a social media post.

"Little message to you Nick, I'd love to come down to the hospital and see you if that's possible, if that's cool with you and your family, I've got something for you, so let me know man," he said in a video posted on Instagram.