Report: Boxer awake after 2-month coma

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Welterweight boxer Oscar Diaz awoke Thursday two months after lapsing into a coma, a San Antonio television station reported.

WOAI-TV reported that Diaz was awake and off the ventilator that helped his breathing. His condition was upgraded from critical to stable by doctors at San Antonio's University Hospital.

"It's very exciting to see Oscar open his eyes," his mother, Theresa, said in a release. "He's a fighter and I believe he will get better."

Diaz, 25, suffered a severe brain injury July 16 in a nationally televised fight against Delvin Rodriguez at San Antonio's Municipal Auditorium. Immediately after the bout, he underwent emergency surgery to relieve swelling in his brain.

Diaz (26-3) and Rodriguez (23-2-1, 14 KOs) were fighting for the vacant United States Boxing Association crown.