Richard "Dicky" Eklund,Jr. (born May 9, 1957) is an American former professional boxer in the Welterweight division. A former New England Welterweight Champion, Eklund was known as "The Pride of Lowell". He is the half-brother and former trainer of former WBU World Champion Micky Ward. The 2010 biopic The Fighter is based on the two brothers' fall and rise to the boxing title.
After an amateur boxing career of over 100 bouts, Eklund turned professional. Eklund fought professionally as Dick Eklund; "Dicky" was a nickname used by his family and friends. Prior to 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 tripped, which was counted as a trip by the referee. In the movie, The Fighter, Eklund claims to have knocked down Leonard in their match. A video of the fight shows a punch/push and Leonard falling to the canvas on his back. The official verdict by the referee Tommy Rawson was a slip. In an interview regarding the knockdown,Leonard said, "I slipped."
Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses.
Bale first caught the public eye at the age of 13, when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun (1987). He played an English boy who is separated from his parents and subsequently finds himself lost in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. He is also notable for his role as serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (2000), and for portraying Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and the upcoming finale The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
In 2010, Bale portrayed Dicky Eklund in the biopic The Fighter. He received critical acclaim for his role and won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.
Plot
The Fighter is a drama about boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer on the verge of being KO'd by drugs and crime.
Keywords: 1990s, actor-playing-himself, adidas-clothing, american-abroad, anger, apartment, applause, arrest, assault-on-police-officer, atlantic-city-new-jersey
Every dream deserves a fighting chance.
Mickey Ward: Alice, this is Charlene.::Charlene Fleming: Hi.::Alice Ward: I've heard a lot about you.::Charlene Fleming: Really? I've heard a lot about you, too.::Alice Ward: What's that supposed to mean?::Charlene Fleming: Same thing you meant.
Phyllis 'Beaver' Eklund: I heard she's into three-ways.::Sherri Ward: Yeah, with other girls.::Cathy 'Pork' Eklund: Yeah, like one of those MTV Girls.::Alice Ward: MTV g... What're you talkin' about?::Cathy 'Pork' Eklund: Wild.::Cindy 'Tar' Eklund: She acts all fuckin soo-perior 'cause she went to college.
Charlene Fleming: Don't call me a skank. I'll rip the nasty hair right outta ya fuckin head!
Charlene Fleming: That's the movie you wanted to see? There wasn't even any good sex in it. Had to read the whole fuckin' movie. Fuckin' subtitled. Some guy from a road crew recommended it to you, a fuckin' subtitled movie?
Mickey Ward: I'm the one fighting, okay? Not you, not you, and not you.
Wolfie: This ain't any anti-Cambodian thing. White people do this to other white people, which is what makes the world go around.
Mickey Ward: [after seeing the size of his opponent] He did not just get off the fuckin' couch. If he did, I'm gonna buy a couch like that.
Dickie Eklund: [in reference to Charlene saying that Sugar Ray Leonard slipped] Hey, Mick, you think I knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard?::Mickey Ward: You went ten rounds. One of the best to ever do it. He couldn't hurt you. You were my hero.::Dickie Eklund: I was. I was.
Neary Trainer: [during the press conference] In fact, we expected a much better fighter.::Mickey Ward: I'm just grateful to be here and have the opportunity. Thank you, guys, for the shot.::Reporter: Shea, who DO you respect as a fighter, and who'd you like to fight next?::Neary: I plan on moving right through Micky Ward tomorrow, moving on to other great fighters, like Gatti. Yeah, I believe Gatti and I'd make a great match.
Dickie Eklund: It's not fuckin' ladylike to be shoutin' in the street like this, all right?
I'll always think of you as I'll try to cross the endless ocean.
As long as my guides are guiding me I don't know how much time I need.
My dreams sometimes look so far away.
And I feel like I am lost.
There are angels all areound me.
They give me faith and hope with wings to fly.
And I have to fly right now to the sky to find tomorrow.
I keep calling you but there's no answer from you.
I'm drifting all by myself.
So many tears are falling down.
I'll always think of you as I'll try to cross the endless ocean.
As long as my guides are guiding me I don't know how much time I need.
Don't know how far it is to get there.
But we know we're always happy as we're trying to look for our dreams.