Who is Dicky Eklund? About his boxing career, children, girlfriend, wife

Dicky Eklund is a former American boxer who rose to fame after the release of his biopic called The fighter with two superstars, Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. He is also known as the half-brother of the former WBU trainer Mickey Ward. The welterweight champion Dicky, is also known as the “The Pride of Lowell”.

By the way, Dicky is the father of three children Richard, Kerry and Tommy. However, the former boxer does not seem to be with the mother of his children anymore. Meanwhile, it appears that Eklund is currently dating someone else. Let’s see who Dicky’s current girlfriend is? When did they start dating?

In this article we will learn about his family, boxing career and much more!

Who is Dicky Eklund’s father? His family and birth details

He is the son of Alice Eklund-Ward (mother) and Richard Eklund Sr. (father). Dicky, born on May 3, 1957, is currently 65 years old. The former boxer was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. His birth name is Richard Eklund Jr. And his zodiac sign is Taurus.

Speaking of his family, Dicky grew up with his seven sisters according to his biopic in his hometown of Massachusetts.

His siblings

In addition to his seven sisters, Eklund also has a half-brother named Micky Ward from his mother’s second marriage to George Ward. Despite being a half brother, both Dicky and Micky are very close to each other and often appear together in different places.

As mentioned before, his younger sibling Micky is also a former professional boxer. He also worked as a former WBU trainer. By the way, Micky is the proud father of a daughter named Kasie Ward with his wife Charlene Fleming.

Dicky Eklund’s Boxing Career: Epic Fight With Sugar Ray Leonard

He started his career in the early 1970s and became a professional boxer on August 26, 1975, after winning ten fights in a row with various champions such as Doug Romano, Randy Milton, Terry Rondeau and Carlos Garcia.

Then, on July 18, 1978, the boxer fought with the future WORLD CHAMPION, Sugar Ray Leonard. This was one of the most interesting matches and boxing fans started to notice him more from that day on.

According to sources, Eklund was knocked out twice and it was almost impossible for him to win. Dicky didn’t win the match, though, even though Leonard stumbled. But his biopic showed Leonard being knocked out by Dicky, which became a major controversial topic for boxing fans.

Speaking of his boxing records, the former fighter appeared in 29 boxing matches and won 19 of them. He won his last match against James Lucas on May 30, 1985. After that, he never took part in any other matches.

After his break from fighting, Dicky started working as a personal trainer for his half brother Micky until his first retirement. Later, Eklund became a full-time trainer and went on to coach for 26 other matches.

Who played Dicky Eklund in The Fighter?

In 2010, a biopic based on the lives of boxer Dicky and his half-brother named Micky The fighter was released. It was an American biographical sports drama directed by David O. Russell. In the film, Christian Bale played the role of Dicky while Marl Wahlberg appeared as Micky.

The film was based on the battle story of how Dicky and Micky became successful boxers. It also portrayed their lies.

Moreover, the film is inspired by the documentary film called High on Crack Street: Lost Lives on Lowell. The documentary was released in 1995 and featured the Eklund-Ward family.

Dicky is the father of three children

The former boxing champion is the father of his three children. He has two sons named Richard Eklund Jr and Tommy Eklund. Eklund also has a daughter named Kerry Eklund. His eldest son Richard Eklund Jr. is an American actor.

Likewise, his other son Tommy Eklund is a vocational technician. According to his dealings with social media, Tommy studied at the Greater Lowell Region. And his daughter Kerry Eklund Moore is the Vice President at Workato. She graduated from Northeastern University.

Eklund is not with the mother of his children

Dicky doesn’t seem to be connected to the mother of his children. The former couple had kept everything private and therefore there is not much information about her. The former boxer has not even revealed whether Dicky was previously married to the mother of his children or not.

Likewise, his former partner likes to keep himself away from the media.

Dicky is currently dating his longtime girlfriend Leslie

Eklund, 65, has been in a relationship with longtime girlfriend Leslie Stephens for nearly two decades. He made his relationship official with his bae on August 21, 2018 on his Facebook.

In fact, the couple has been together since 2005. And it’s been almost 17 years of their being together and their relationship is still going smoothly.

About his girlfriend, Leslie is also from Lowell, Massachusetts. She graduated from Lowell High School. Furthermore, Leslie has two children from her previous relationship.

What is Dicky Eklund currently doing?

The former boxing champion currently resides in New England with his girlfriend Leslie Stephens. After his retirement, Dicky still works as a personal trainer and coach. He also travels to his homeland with his brother Micky Wards.

They both teach and give motivational speeches for students.

Is Eklund available on social platforms?

He is active on various social media platforms. Eklund has over 2k followers on his Instagram handle. Likewise, Dicky is also available on Facebook with thousands of followers.

On the other hand, his brother Mikey is quite active on his social media accounts. He has maintained good engagement and has about 53.6k followers on his Instagram account. He uses his social media for branding and advertising his boxing classes.

What is Dicky Eklund’s net worth?

Dicky Eklund has been able to amass a lot of fortune through his boxing career and other endeavors. According to online tabloids, his fortune is $3 million in 2022. His main source of income is working as a coach and personal trainer.

In the meantime, his brother Micky Ward has an estimated net worth of $10 million. He also mainly earned money by working as a coach and personal trainer.