Nick Blackwell reveals he had part of skull left in stomach to keep it alive and died in ambulance after Eubank Jr bout
NICK BLACKWELL has revealed part of his skull was removed and put inside his STOMACH after cheating death twice.
The former boxer was put into a coma for seven days after a devastating defeat to Chris Eubank Jr in March 2016.
He collapsed in the ring minutes after the fight with a bleed on the brain that ultimately led to his retirement from the sport.
But less than ten months, later, and after recovering from surgery, the Trowbridge fighter decided to get back into the ring for a sparring session.
This went against medical advice at the time. And it almost led to his death.
After going 12 rounds with a boxer called Hasan Karkardi, Blackwell was rushed to hospital where he was given the slimmest of chances of survival.
On a scale of 1-20 of survival, with 20 being full health, Blackwell was given a two.
It led to part of his skull being removed to relieve pressure on his brain and he was in a coma for a month.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the 29-year-old admits his "addiction" to boxing almost cost him his life.
He said: "I died in the ambulance after the Eubank fight. They brought me back to life.
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"The second time, they cut a section out of my skull to relieve the swelling on my brain.
"They placed it inside my stomach to keep it alive until it went back. Crazy.
"I was told there was a 75 per cent chance of dying. If I survived, there was an 85 per cent chance of being paralysed down my left side."
Blackwell fancied his chances despite being the underdog when he took on Eubank Jr back on that fateful night at Wembley Arena.
The British title was on the line, but all that paled into insignificance in the hours after Eubank Jr won the fight with a tenth-round stoppage victory.
During the fight Eubank Jr's own father Chris Sr begged his son to stop punching Blackwell in the head and aim for the body more.
This was after a horrendous swelling appeared around Blackwell's left eye that led to referee Victor Loughlin halting the bout.
After collapsing in his corner, Blackwell, who made his pro debut in 2009, was rushed to hospital and placed in a medically-induced coma.
But he has astonishingly claimed the bleed on his brain started BEFORE the Eubank fight, during a sparring session against the now-retired George Groves.
He continued: "If I didn’t spar with George Groves, I believe that I could have been world champion now.
"I walked into a right hand - the hardest I have ever been hit. It left me feeling weird. Light headed. Headaches before the fight.”
His biggest fight undoubtedly came after waking from a coma for the second time, with Blackwell having to learn to walk again.
And despite his near-death experience, Blackwell remains a fan of the sport that nearly took him away forever.
He added: "Should it be banned? No way. It’s the best sport in the world. It sorts your discipline out. It sorts your fitness.
"It transforms the most troublesome kids. It sorted me as a person.”