George Michael Ward Jr. (born October 4, 1965), often known by his nickname, " Irish " Micky Ward , is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2003. He challenged once for the IBF light welterweight title in 1997, and held the WBU light welterweight title in 2000. Ward is widely known for his trilogy of fights with Arturo Gatti , two of which received Fight of the Year awards by The Ring magazine , as well as his relentless pressure fighting style. Ward was portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in the 2010 film The Fighter , which was based on his early career.
27-614: His maternal great-grandmother Annie Greenhalge (Carroll) was born in Ireland, the daughter of Michael and Mary (Flood) Carroll. His maternal great-great-great grandparents Peter McMahon and Ann Quinn were from County Tyrone, Ireland. They fled Ireland during the 1850s to escape from poverty and oppression and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts. They settled in the Acre neighborhood of Lowell, Massachusetts and worked as laborers and millworkers. Ward
54-542: A 12-round decision against Zab Judah . In 2000, Ward traveled to London to take on the WBU Light Welterweight Champion, Shea Neary , and earned a TKO in the eighth round to win the WBU title. Ward, however, never defended the title, and split his next four fights. His ten-round decision victory over Emanuel Augustus (then known as Emanuel Burton) was voted The Ring magazine's 2001 Fight of
81-523: A 2010 feature film, The Fighter , starring Mark Wahlberg (who was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor ) as Ward. In 2011, Wahlberg confirmed to Spike TV that The Fighter 2 is in the works, which will focus on the legendary fight trilogy between Ward and Arturo Gatti. Lowell hip hop artist D-Tension released the song, '’One Hit to the Body'’ which Micky used as his ring entrance music for
108-410: A child by a friend of Dicky's, another boxer referred to only by his nickname, "Hammer". The abuse began when Ward was nine years old and continued for approximately three years, until he gained the confidence to confront his attacker. Ward would eventually face off against Hammer in one of his first amateur bouts, winning by unanimous decision. The story of Ward's comeback and rise to fame was made into
135-403: A fight that Ward, up to then, was clearly losing on points. Shortly before the punch, Emanuel Augustus said the fight should be stopped (which referee Mitch Halpern had threatened to do if Ward didn't "show [him] something"); afterwards HBO boxing commentator Larry Merchant called it one of the most extraordinary things he'd ever seen in boxing. Ward's left hook to the body later resulted in
162-420: A first-round knockout of Steve Quinonez, and a nine-count knockdown of Arturo Gatti in their first fight. Ward earned a 1997 IBF Light Welterweight Championship fight against champion Vince Phillips , but did not win the championship, as the fight was stopped in the third round due to cuts, and Phillips was awarded the bout via TKO . One year later, Ward again would come up short in a title fight, as he lost
189-549: A personal trainer and boxing coach in New England . He also travels the United States with Micky Ward, giving motivational speeches to college students. Paramount Pictures ' 2010 drama The Fighter chronicles the rise of Eklund's younger half-brother Micky Ward. Directed by David O. Russell , the film stars Christian Bale as Eklund and Mark Wahlberg as Ward. At the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards , Eklund made
216-484: A sixth round knockdown of Gatti. Before Gatti could get up, or the referee's count could hit ten, the bell sounded to end the round. Gatti was able to come back and win the fight via a unanimous decision. Again, both men needed a trip to the hospital, due to the injuries they suffered. The fight was named the 2003 Ring magazine fight of the year , the third straight for Ward. Ward was the first fighter to achieve this since Rocky Marciano and Carmen Basilio each did so in
243-606: A surprise appearance on stage with Christian Bale as the latter accepted the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Eklund. Bale also won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his performance. During his Academy Award acceptance speech, he thanked Eklund and Ward, who were in the audience. Eklund was also featured on the HBO documentary High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell which showed his fall from boxing grace because of his addiction to crack cocaine. In
270-783: 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' fall and rise to a boxing title. After an amateur boxing career of 200 bouts, winning 194, 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"
297-649: Is heard in The Fighter . The game Fight Night Round 3 (2006) features Ward and Gatti on the cover (PS2 and Xbox versions only). [REDACTED] Media related to Micky Ward at Wikimedia Commons New England Golden Gloves As a franchise of the National Golden Gloves , the New England Golden Gloves is the annual amateur boxing competition for the New England states. It has been held every year since 1945 at
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#1732797768776324-772: The Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts . Competitors over the years have included boxing greats such as Rocky Marciano , Sugar Ray Leonard , Marvin Hagler , and Micky Ward . The competitions typically take place in January through February, with the winners heading to the National Golden Gloves in May. In 1946 Robert Edward Seavey Sr. won the Golden Gloves at the age of 17, registered under
351-544: The 1950s. Ward made approximately $ 3 million in earnings for his trilogy with Gatti; the most lucrative fights of his career. Ward still lives in Lowell, where he is part owner of both a boxing gym as well as an outdoor hockey rink. Ward is married to Charlene Fleming, his longtime girlfriend, who is also a former athlete. He manages the boxing gym he owns with his half-brother and former trainer, Dicky Eklund , who trains new boxers entering its academy. In his 2012 autobiography, Ward revealed that he had been sexually abused as
378-554: The National Tournament of Champions. 1996 U.S. Olympic team captain Lawrence Clay-Bey won several super heavyweight titles at Lowell in the mid-1990s as did future IBO super bantamweight champion Mike "Machine Gun" Oliver. In the 2000s pro boxer Danny O'Connor was a 4 time New England Golden Gloves Champion. In the 2000s pro boxer "Too Smooth" Matt Godfrey was a New England Golden Gloves Champion as
405-493: The National Tournament of Champions. In the early 1980s pro boxer Micky Ward was 3 time New England Golden Gloves Champion. In 1976-1980 pro boxer Irish Danny Cronin was 4 time new England golden gloves champion. From 1987-88. runner-up Lowell. Ma.John J Wojcik Jr. 2 time silver mittens Champion won 3 New England Golden Gloves Championships and was also a national runner-up on two occasions, in 1987 and 1988. In 1995, The New England Franchise ( Lowell, Massachusetts ) Hosted
432-455: The On May 18, 2002 Ward-Gatti bout. Philadelphia hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks released two remixes to their single, Animal Rap from their third album Visions of Gandhi (2003), dubbed the "Micky Ward Mix" and "Arturo Gatti Mix". The album The Warrior's Code by Dropkick Murphys features Ward on the cover, and he is also the subject of the title song. A live recording of the song
459-501: The USA New England Welterweight Title. 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 10 losses. After Eklund's fighting career ended, he became the trainer of his half-brother, noted former boxer Micky Ward . Eklund
486-548: The Year . On May 18, 2002, Ward faced the opponent with whom he became most identified, Arturo Gatti . The fight was a wild one, but a ninth round Ward knockdown of Gatti proved to be the difference, with Ward winning a majority decision. The fight was later named the 2002 Ring magazine fight of the year . Both fighters needed care in a trauma center after the match. The two agreed to an immediate rematch, and in November, Gatti
513-493: The bone from Ward's pelvis to strengthen and fuse the bones in his hand. Ward was successful in his return, winning his first nine fights, and won the WBU 's Light Welterweight Title in a fight against Shea Neary in 2000. He never defended the belt once. In a 1997 match that would come to typify the exceptional power of Ward's left hook to the body, he scored a 7th-round knockout against the then-undefeated Mexican Alfonso Sanchez in
540-431: 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 film The Fighter , Eklund claims to have knocked down Leonard in their match. While the film acknowledges the slip, a video of the fight shows a punch/push and Leonard falling to the canvas on his back. The official verdict by
567-570: The name of his older brother Albert. He won the Championship title again in 1947. In the 1960s Ralph Lally , from Lowell, Massachusetts fought in the 75 Golden Glove bout with 67 KOs. His pro and Olympic hopes were dashed by his draft into the Vietnam War . In 1971, the "Boxing Doctor" Harold Reitman was champion in the heavyweight division while in medical school. In 1973, The New England Franchise ( Lowell, Massachusetts ) Hosted
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#1732797768776594-547: The referee Tommy Rawson was a slip. In an interview regarding the knockdown, Leonard said, "I slipped." Eklund's fastest victory was a first-round knockout over C.J. Faison in Montreal, Canada on February 10, 1981. According to the 1983 Ring Record Book , 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
621-502: Was Ward's full-time trainer for 26 fights, from Ward's professional debut in 1985 until his first retirement in 1991. Three of Ward's post-retirement fights were voted fight of the year by The Ring . Eklund served as Ward's trainer until his second retirement, after his third fight with Arturo Gatti on June 7, 2003. Ward's biography, written by Bob Halloran and titled Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward , discusses much of Eklund's life and career. Eklund now works as
648-537: 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
675-452: Was a three-time New England Golden Gloves champion boxer who turned pro in 1985, winning his first fourteen fights. However, his career leveled off, and after losing four consecutive fights in 1990/91, Ward took a hiatus from boxing. During Ward's time away from the sport, he used some of the funds from his day job on a road-paving crew to have surgery on his right hand, which had given him problems during several bouts. The surgery used some of
702-424: Was able to win the second wild fight, knocking Ward down in the third round, although he survived to finish the fight. Gatti paid tribute to Ward's tenacity after the fight, saying, "I used to wonder what would happen if I fought my twin. Now I know." They then agreed to a third straight fight, and again, the fight was back and forth. Gatti pounded Ward with punch after punch early on, but Ward fought back and managed
729-1002: Was his friend and stablemate, 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason Estrada. In 2002 & 2004-2006, pro heavyweight "The Storm" Nathaniel James was 3 time New England Golden Gloves Champion. 1962- 112 lbs: Ray Jutrus 1969- 165 lbs: Roosevelt Molden 1974- 178 lbs: Robert Stewart 1993- 165 lbs: Tarvis Simms 2000- Shw: Steve Vukosa 2001- 130 lbs: Henry Jr. Ponciano 2002- 165 lbs: Jaidon Codrington & 201 lbs: Matthew Godfrey 2006- 152 lbs: Demetrius Andrade & 165 lbs: Edwin Rodriquez 2007- 152 lbs: Demetrius Andrade 2008- 112 lbs: Jorge Aiague & 141 lbs: Daniel O'Connor 2010- 123 lbs: Toka Kahn-Clary & 165 lbs: Ronald Ellis 2011- 123 lbs: Tramaine Williams Timothy Ottman New England Golden Glove Champion 1969 to 1971 light weight record 32 wins 0 loss 1 draw Dicky Eklund Richard Eklund Jr. (born May 3, 1957)
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