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

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.

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Britain's Joe Calzaghe is seen at a press conference in London to announce his future boxing fight with Roy Jones Jr, of the USA, on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008. The pair will fight in a light heavyweight contest on Nov. 8, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Roy Jones Jr, of the USA, is seen at a press conference to announce his future boxing fight with Britain's Joe Calzaghe in London, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008. The pair will fight in a light heavyweight contest on Nov. 8, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

US's Roy Jones Jr is seen at a press conference to announce his future boxing fight with Britain's Joe Calzaghe in London, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008. The pair will fight in a light heavyweight contest on Nov. 8, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Britain's Joe Calzaghe is seen at a press conference in London to announce his future boxing fight with US's Roy Jones Jr, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008. The pair will fight in a light heavyweight contest on Nov. 8, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

US's Roy Jones Jr. is seen at a press conference to announce his future boxing fight with Britain's Joe Calzaghe in London, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008. The pair will fight on Nov. 8, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

US's Roy Jones Jr. , right and Britain's Joe Calzaghe are seen at a press conference in London to announce their future boxing fight, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008. The pair will fight in a light heavyweight contest on Nov. 8, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

US's Roy Jones Jr. ,right and Britain's Joe Calzaghe are seen at a press conference in London to announce their future boxing fight, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008. The pair will fight in a light heavyweight contest on Nov. 8, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

US's Roy Jones Jr ,right and Britain's Joe Calzaghe are seen at a press conference in London to announce their future boxing fight, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008. The pair will fight in a light heavyweight contest on November 8, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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