Nick Blackwell ‘unable to walk’ after dropping into a coma following sparring session and is a year away from a full recovery
His career was ended when he suffered bleeding on the brain after a fight with Chris Eubank, but Blackwell couldn't let go
FORMER boxer Nick Blackwell is "unable to walk" after falling into a coma for the second time, and is a year away from full recovery.
The 26-year-old was forced to hang up his gloves following a brutal British middleweight title defeat to Chris Eubank Jr in March last year.
He collapsed after the bout and was rushed to St Mary’s in Paddington, where he spent a week in a medically-induced coma having suffered bleeding on the skull.
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The Trowbridge warrior made a full recovery and collected his trainer’s licence from the British Boxing Board of Control in November as he looked towards the next chapter of his career.
But his love of boxing had lured him to lace up his gloves again — with disastrous consequences. He collapsed during a sparring session, and was put into an induced coma once again.
And now it has emerged he is some way of making a full recovery and is still not able to walk.
Speaking about the sparring incident Robert Smith, general secretary of the BBBofC, told SunSport: “I understand he was sparring, fell ill, was taken to hospital and then underwent a procedure.
“I don’t know exactly what the procedure was, other than the fact they tried to relieve pressure on the brain and he’s now in a stable condition. That’s all I know.
"I'm sickened by it. It's a very tough sport and the doctors here did a wonderful job to save his life. The doctors at hospital saved his life and kept him going.
"He made remarkable recovery and for somebody to go and do what he's done, for what I thought was a very sensible young man, is just beyond belief."
And speaking to BBC Wales Sport, his former trainer Gary Lockett said: "We thought that was all going very well and while we knew Nick missed boxing, we obviously didn't realise the extent to which he missed it."