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Dicky Eklund
Richard Eklund Jr. (born May 3, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1975 to 1985. Known as "The Pride of Lowell," he held the USA New England welterweight title twice between 1979 and 1983. He is the half-brother and former trainer of former WBU champion Micky Ward. The 2010 biopic The Fighter is based on the two brothers' life.
Eklund grew up in Lowell with seven sisters and his half-brother Micky. He started boxing at the age of 12 in the streets of Lowell. He then began to fight older adults nearly twice his age.
Eklund had an amateur boxing career of 200 bouts, winning 194, including 2 New England Golden Glove championships. Eklund turned professional on August 26, 1975. After losing his debut by 6-round decision to Joe DeFayette, Eklund won 10 straight fights, defeating such opponents as Doug Romano, Terry Rondeau, Carlos Garcia, Randy Milton, and Mike Michaud.
He fought professionally as Dick Eklund; "Dicky" was a nickname used by his family and friends. Before his 1978 match with future world boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard, Eklund's most impressive victory was over undefeated Rufus Miller (6–0–1) in 1976.
Eklund's most notable fight was on July 18, 1978, against Sugar Ray Leonard at the Hynes Memorial Auditorium in Boston, Massachusetts. He went the distance against Leonard, who eventually won the fight by unanimous decision. During the fight, Eklund was knocked down twice. In the ninth round, the fighters got wrapped up and Leonard fell, which was counted as a slip by the referee Tommy Rawson. However, footage shows a punch being landed on Leonard as he fell. In the film The Fighter, Eklund claims to have knocked down Leonard in their match, though the film acknowledges the slip. In an interview regarding the knockdown, Leonard said, "I slipped."
After his bout with Leonard, he then fought Fernando Fernandez for the vacant USA New England welterweight title. The bout took place in his hometown of Lowell, with Eklund winning the title by defeating Fernandez on PTS. In his next 8 fights, Eklund went on alternating win/loss streaks, losing the first two, winning the next two, losing the next two, and winning the last two. He then fought Robert Sawyer for the ESPN welterweight title but lost via unanimous decision, then splitting his next two fights.
Eklund's fastest victory was a first-round knockout over C.J. Faison in Montreal, Canada on February 10, 1981. Eklund knocked out Canada's Allan Clarke in 9 rounds on August 25, 1981. Clarke's record was listed by the Ring as 21–4–1. On October 25, 1983, Eklund defeated James Lucas to win the USA New England Welterweight Title for a second time. Following a rematch victory over Lucas in 1985, Eklund never fought again.
Eklund's fighting career spanned 10 years from 1975 to 1985, during which he compiled a professional career record of 19 wins, including four by knockout, and ten losses. During his career, Dicky's fame got him in trouble with drugs, specifically crack cocaine, which caused his boxing career to slowly decline and eventually result in his being arrested and sentenced to prison for 10–15 years.
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Dicky Eklund
Richard Eklund Jr. (born May 3, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1975 to 1985. Known as "The Pride of Lowell," he held the USA New England welterweight title twice between 1979 and 1983. He is the half-brother and former trainer of former WBU champion Micky Ward. The 2010 biopic The Fighter is based on the two brothers' life.
Eklund grew up in Lowell with seven sisters and his half-brother Micky. He started boxing at the age of 12 in the streets of Lowell. He then began to fight older adults nearly twice his age.
Eklund had an amateur boxing career of 200 bouts, winning 194, including 2 New England Golden Glove championships. Eklund turned professional on August 26, 1975. After losing his debut by 6-round decision to Joe DeFayette, Eklund won 10 straight fights, defeating such opponents as Doug Romano, Terry Rondeau, Carlos Garcia, Randy Milton, and Mike Michaud.
He fought professionally as Dick Eklund; "Dicky" was a nickname used by his family and friends. Before his 1978 match with future world boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard, Eklund's most impressive victory was over undefeated Rufus Miller (6–0–1) in 1976.
Eklund's most notable fight was on July 18, 1978, against Sugar Ray Leonard at the Hynes Memorial Auditorium in Boston, Massachusetts. He went the distance against Leonard, who eventually won the fight by unanimous decision. During the fight, Eklund was knocked down twice. In the ninth round, the fighters got wrapped up and Leonard fell, which was counted as a slip by the referee Tommy Rawson. However, footage shows a punch being landed on Leonard as he fell. In the film The Fighter, Eklund claims to have knocked down Leonard in their match, though the film acknowledges the slip. In an interview regarding the knockdown, Leonard said, "I slipped."
After his bout with Leonard, he then fought Fernando Fernandez for the vacant USA New England welterweight title. The bout took place in his hometown of Lowell, with Eklund winning the title by defeating Fernandez on PTS. In his next 8 fights, Eklund went on alternating win/loss streaks, losing the first two, winning the next two, losing the next two, and winning the last two. He then fought Robert Sawyer for the ESPN welterweight title but lost via unanimous decision, then splitting his next two fights.
Eklund's fastest victory was a first-round knockout over C.J. Faison in Montreal, Canada on February 10, 1981. Eklund knocked out Canada's Allan Clarke in 9 rounds on August 25, 1981. Clarke's record was listed by the Ring as 21–4–1. On October 25, 1983, Eklund defeated James Lucas to win the USA New England Welterweight Title for a second time. Following a rematch victory over Lucas in 1985, Eklund never fought again.
Eklund's fighting career spanned 10 years from 1975 to 1985, during which he compiled a professional career record of 19 wins, including four by knockout, and ten losses. During his career, Dicky's fame got him in trouble with drugs, specifically crack cocaine, which caused his boxing career to slowly decline and eventually result in his being arrested and sentenced to prison for 10–15 years.
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