Ex-British middleweight champion Nick Blackwell has woken from a coma after being injured in a sparring session.
Blackwell had surgery to reduce swelling on his brain after returning to sparring in November.
The 26-year-old Englishman retired earlier this year after being placed in an induced coma following a fight with Chris Eubank Jr.
A British Boxing Board of Control hearing into the unsanctioned sparring session will be held in January.
“We’ve been hoping he would get to this stage but didn’t think it would be for another few months yet,” Blackwell’s father, John, told the Wiltshire Times.
“There’s still a long road ahead, though, and he’ll need another operation sometime next year to replace the part of his skull which is missing, but we’re just so happy to see him smiling again.”
An initial BBBofC investigation found Blackwell was involved in a gym sparring session with a licensed boxer on 22 November.
The boxer who sparred with Blackwell, Hasan Karkardi, and the trainer who oversaw the session, Liam Wilkins, have been suspended for their roles in the incident.
His former promoter, Frank Warren, described the circumstances that led to Blackwell’s injuries as “total madness”, and called for all those involved to have their licences revoked.