Dickie Eklund

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Dickie Ecklund (born 1 January 1958) was a welterweight boxer from the mill city of Lowell, Massachusetts. He is known as "The Pride Of Lowell". His 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 Sugar Ray sending him to the canvas eventually losing by decision. His boxing career was 10 years long from 1975-1985. His professional career stats were: Wins: 19(4 KO's) and Losses: 10(although he was never Knocked-Out) and 0 Draws^[1].

Dickies career was most likely ended due to his addiction to crack cocaine. He was documented by HBO's America Undercover for a period of 18 months. The documentary is named "High On Crack Street: Lost Lives In Lowell". It followed Dickie and 2 other crack addicts in Lowell as their lives spirled out of control. It ended with Dickie receiving a 10-15 year sentence for breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony, kidnapping, masked armed robbery, and several other crimes.

Dickie Eklund is the half-brother of the notable fighter Irish Micky Ward. After Dickie's boxing career had ended he became Micky's full-time trainer for his first 26 professional fights. He trained him until Micky's first retirement in 1991. Micky Ward's biography, by Bob Halloran, entitled Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward talks a good deal about Dickie's life and career.

"The Fighter", a movie directed by Darren Aronofsky and slated to star Brad Pitt or Matt Damon as Dickie and Mark Wahlberg as younger brother Micky Ward is scheduled for release in late 2009.^[2] The film will cronicle the brothers growing up in Lowell and how Dickie pushed his brother back into the ring after his early retirement leading to 3 epic bouts with Arturo Gatti. Three of his post-retirement fights were voted fight of the year by Ring Magazine. Dickie served as his trainer until his retirement after his third fight with Gatti on June 7, 2003.