FanHouse Oscar Diaz

Boxer Oscar Diaz is conscious and stable two months after suffering life-threatening brain injuries in the ring, but he still has a long way to go and will probably never make a full recovery.

Dr. David Jimenez said tests show good brain activity, but there's still a long way to go before he can make any type of prediction of the extent to which Diaz will recover -- and it's not realistic to think he'll be the same as he was before the injuries:

"I don't see him going back to the way he was before" the accident, Jimenez said. "It's going to be a long process, one step at a time."

Jimenez said doctors will surgically reinsert the section of skull that was removed during emergency surgery on the night of the fight. Diaz will then spend several weeks in intermediate care and several more weeks in rehabilitation.

But even if Diaz is never the same again, the mere fact that he's alive is a tribute to the first-rate medical care he got in the hours after the fight.

Diaz suffered the injuries in a TKO loss to Delvin Rodriguez. The fight was shown live on ESPN2.

Boxer Oscar Diaz is awake and breathing on his own, two months after suffering life-threatening brain injuries in a bout with Delvin Rodriguez.

Diaz was in critical condition but has now been updated to stable, and his doctors and family are optimistic he will continue to improve.

"It's very exciting to see Oscar open his eyes. He's a fighter and I believe he will get better," his mother, Theresa Diaz, said in a statement. Diaz's family and doctor will provide more information about his condition today.

The Diaz-Rodriguez fight was shown live on ESPN2. Rodriguez had unleashed a fury of punches on Diaz, and before the start of the 11th round, Diaz began to look unstable and then fell to the ground in his corner. He was rushed to San Antonio University Hospital and has been there since.

Reached by ESPN.com, Rodriguez said, "It's very good news to me.... I've been waiting for his moment for a long time. It's been difficult. I kept thinking about him and how his family was doing. I've been worried."

UPDATE: Oscar Diaz Awake and Showing Brain Activity, Doctor Cautions He'll Never Be the Same.

Oscar Diaz, a San Antonio-based welterweight, collapsed in his corner during a fight against Delvin Rodriguez and was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery early this morning. Doctors hoped to relieve swelling on the brain and there were reports that he's on a ventilator.

Diaz took quite a beating from Rodriguez in the fight, televised on ESPN2, and just before the 11th round began, he swayed and fell to the ground in his corner. That came moments after it appeared that Diaz could not respond to questions from the referee.

"When he left the ring, he was completely stationary and he didn't look good," said Star Boxing chief Joe DeGuardia. "They couldn't get him to respond. They cleared a path right away and took him to the hospital."

Diaz has been on the receiving end of serious punishment before. An 11th round TKO at the hands of Golden Johnson in 2006 was brutal and was mentioned by analyst Teddy Atlas during last night's telecast. Hopefully Diaz makes a full and speedy recovery from his injuries and never gets anywhere near a boxing ring again.

(Note: The photo above right is not of Diaz but of Audley Harrison. There aren't any photos from last night's fight available at present.)