Christian Bale brought me here,his dedication to this movie and the mechanic is insane.The things he does to his body in these two movies is insane

the man was a ghost in the ring, beautiful foot work, Dicky was very clean with his movement... it's truly sad to see how drugs can ruin such beautiful talent...😔

0:25 Damn, Debbie Eklund was fine

Bale perfectly captured the movement of Mickey and not even Hollywood could match the natural beauty of Debbie Ekland

Because Sugar Ray was sometimes overly flashy, his sportsmanship was sometimes overshadowed. In this fight, for him to hold up Eclund's hand like that at the end was truly show of great humility, sportsmanship and class. Eckund went wrong from here...but found redemption through his brother--as we all know.

The HBO Movie "High On Crack Street" brought me here..

38:30 is when Sugar Ray goes down.

Sugar Ray Leonard did say that Ecklund was the most Tricky fighter he ever came across

Sugar Ray Leonard "the black boy" lmaooo...... Try to say that on television today and see if you don't lose your job

Wow, Dick Ecklund was pretty darn good, went pretty much toe to toe with Sugar Ray the whole fight. They both also seem to have had very similar styles, both equally moving, bobbing and weaving non-stop throughout

35:51 - Ecklund's mom utters the words "he's still my little baby". Yeah, I think If my mom said that on live TV I'd probably start smoking crack too.

How many people are from Massachusetts watching this classic🍀💯💪

DAMN!! Ecklund's wife is SMOKIN!!!!!!

Who saw the movie?

Dicky was a very tough guy. Going the distance with Sugar Ray is really something to be very very proud of.

Eklund was a natural. Good movements, courage, pace and strength. He faced an all time great on the rise and held his own. He could have been a more successful boxer based on his talent.

You can talk shit about Ecklund all you want, yes he did crack, but he he got clean and now he's got a much happier life. Stop looking for problems in his past and look for the solutions in his future.

Dick Ecklund boxed very well. I wish to see today that quality of boxing.

You could see that Leonard learned a few tricks from eklund a little bit after 33:15 you’ll see Leonard do the same defensive maneuver that eklund pulled off a few times in the fight where he used a stretched out stiff arm to deflect a jab or straight right hand.... this is testament to Leonard’s intelligence as a fighter, most idiot top fighters nowadays don’t acknowledge some of the defensive maneuvers that some journeymen pull off when they last the distance with them, this shows that Leonard is smart enough to learn from his opponent in the middle of a fight instead of being prideful... and eklund all through the fight showed very good skill and defense throughout this bout, fun and educative fight to watch here

38:27 good grief why isn't that posted by any1 yet lolz

thats when brain beats muscles what a smart fighter Ecklund!!!!!

Dicky Ecklund fought the best in the world and never stopped. Very very few people could ever achieve such amazing accomplishments.

Eklund's footwork is insane! I came here cause of the Fighter but stayed for the footwork. Definitely one of the better fights I've seen.

Well, he went 10 rounds with Sugar Ray Leonard. I give him credit for that. How many of us could do that. Or even be willing to try. Not me.

crazy ......he's taking a month off and will be fighting September 9th.......these old guys were warriors. They fought so much back in the day. Now you get them once or twice a year fighting.

I just wish you had the intro where his mom says her son is gonna beat "Sugah Ray Lenahd" haha. Melissa Leo NAILED that performance.

38:27 is the "knockdown"

Dicky was losing but frustrated the hell out of Sugar Ray. Great fight 🙌🏼

"The Fighter 2011" brought me here 😷Ward bas a Beast at his Prime

"The black boy is wearing white trunks"? Wow, how times have changed. Can't believe Don Dunphy actually said that.......and I was there that night.

The lady with the light blue shirt and navy blue pants pleading and rooting for Ecklund is priceless.

At 38:29 Eklund's left foot is clearly behind Leonard's left foot with Leonard falling back. Not a knockdown for sure. Still a game effort by Eklund.

The most complete fighter of all times he go it all Sugar Ray Leonard

Knockdown controversy aside this was an excellent fight to watch. Really fun.

I wish these two had a rematch

The way he steps across his face is legendary

Now that definitely was a slip, but can you imagine actually knocking down a great like this being a no name fighter and then having the balls to step over him like that? God damn boxing sure was something back then.

It wasn't a knockdown. It wasn't a slip. Leonard tripped over Eckland's leg while moving backwards. By coincidence, Dicky was pushing Leonard as he tripped. It's so obvious.

Lowell native here, it was great we had Dickey Ecklund and Mickey Ward to look up to in the day, but I never saw any of the fights, having just seen this one for the first time it's safe to say it wasn't even close. Dickey did a great job lasting the whole ten rounds and he greatly minimized the damage he took, but he really didn't have much of an offense. I remember in the movie "The Fighter" that Dickey kept saying he knocked Sugar Ray down but it was evident that what he actually did was trip him, not intentionally but that's how it worked out due to Sugar Ray changing direction whilst backing up and their legs crossed, then of course it was announced that it was not a knock down.

Such respect between fighters back in this time. Leonard was just too good but he still had to earn it with that slippery Eklund. This fight was definitely worth the price of YT admission. It should be shown to all aspiring young boxers as an instructional on footwork 101. Besides Leonard, Hearns’ footwork was my favorite to watch.

Either Ecklund pushed him or SRL tripped moving backwards. That being said, Ecklund is a helluva a fighter. SRL tried his best to KO him and couldn't do it. Watch closely how SRL missed so many shots because Ecklund moved so well. SRL clearly won the fight but Ecklund won the fans. SRL is a great fighter but it does not take away from Ecklund's performance. To get knocked down 3x and get back up and last 10 rounds with the legendary SRL only proves Ecklund had a lot of HEART. I tip my hat to both of them. Nuff said.

It's nice seeing Micky Ward's older brother doing so well.

Crazy to think Sugar Ray paraded around the ring holding Eklunds hand up high and went on in the interview to say " Dick Eklund is a great fighter, I wish him the best" even Angelo Dundee said "Dicks a great young fighter" one of the greatest of all time held Eklund In high regard and wished him a bright future but Dickie was sucked into crack and had trouble getting off. Well Dickie we sure are glad you're off the junk and hope you live a great productive rest of your life my friend

The only boxer to ever match sugar ray leonard

Ray grew a lot after this fight. He seemed to still be fighting for points at this time (jabbing and flurrying). In the next fight against Mayweather, he was more aggressive and fighting on the inside.

Two living legends

The greatest of all times Sugar Ray Leonard

Ecklund was tough but Leonard was too fast, great counterpunching and jabs.

39 min into the video, the announcer yelling to get the refs attention, "Tommy for Christ sakes". Lmao! So old school this fight.

"It" was a knockdown/push/foot-stomp/slip. What "it" was, has never really been as interesting to me as was, Sugar Ray's reaction to "it" when he was on the canvas and immediately after when he gets up. When knocked down, Ray rests his head back on the canvas (as if he was legitimately knocked down). Then when he gets up, Ray's body language, especially in his arms, hands and shoulders were that of someone whom had just taken a legitimate knock down. Regardless whatever "it" was Dick Eklund, went the distance with (arguably) the greatest boxer of all time here and its THIS (fact) that should never be taken lightly and which should supersede all else here.

Thanks for the video, Jacovini1313

I train with dicky eklund and I love him with all my heart he's my main man, he never fails putting a smile on my face, he's the biggest goofball and I think he missed his second calling in singing and dancing. but this fight was legendary when you train as a boxer you constantly work on your footwork and sugar ray leanard is just as good as dicky which means you don't "slip" in the ring. first, what is there to slip on and second, if it affects you that much that you fall in the middle of a fight then maybe you aren't as great as we all thought. both are amazing fighters and both had knockouts, there were no "slip" ups.

haha Nice! dickys a funny guy legend in lowell for many things good and bad but iv seen kids go from the street life to the west end gym type life because of him and thats what i see the most!! was awesome to come across this video today lol

I won $350 when Sugar Ray Leonard knocked out Roberto Duran in the 15th round, but this Dicky Ecklund is a whole other class of fighter, he was on a whole different level.

Ray pursued to become power puncher and he would definitely become super blazing speed with POWER 🔋 💪 😎

What an atmosphere. Close enough to be considered a knockdown. Why not

The man with the distance with Sugar Ray Leonard for $4800. Damn

Gotta love the ma, classic american/irish tough woman.

I can see where him and Micky would be related. Tons of heart and determination

What year was this

At first of RD. 1, the camera flashes tripped me out, lol.

Great crowd!

Love it when they both start clowning at the end of round 5! Props to SRL obviously. But note Dickie's ability to switch-hit from Orthodox to Southpaw... that shows good pedigree.

9:18 - "Eklund seems to flinch a little bit Larry." Right then, Sugar Ray flinches about 4 feet backwards...

Like his fighting style

The announcer said " and Leonard is the black boy " lolol

commented b4 the end and the interviews and great to see Sugar holding up Dickie's hand around the ring and awesome of Dickie to show respect and to say "he's the best" I just got more heated at the crowd and I stand by my comments about not all of Ma. but there were some problems as were in alot of cities.

Dicky was sponsored by Chore Boy

Micky ward vs gatti now that's a fight people !!

38:27 - Leonard was moving backwards, lost his balance and Ecklund pushed him down. 100-90 Leonard. Both of them were class acts after the fight.

Does anyone know how much was the purse for the fight?

I gotta say one thing for Ecklund he fought a smart fight you can't take that from him

Awesome !! Both men had heart !!

"The Fighter" movie bring me here...

Them late 70 and 80’s was something else Ray did some coke and Ecklund did some crack😂. 🥊❄️😱

There wasn't many men that could have played sugar ray like that, dick eklund a very talented boxer, you got to respect the man he showed heart and cleverness against one of the greatest boxers of all times, he just couldn't pull it off, sugar had the edge

3:54 "The black boy is wearing the white trunks."

"Tommy, for Chrissakes."

LOL what a trainwreck of a broadcast!

No pushing!! But Dickie went the distance!

Debbie Eklund had it goin ON ! SHE’S NO MTV GIRL !

Didn't know Christian Bale could box so well

Pride of Lowell

Their bodies are so identical.

In a un edited interview, SRL quoted about Eklund! " He was a slippery one, "

Wow what in the fuckkkkk his wife was GORGEOUS

The pride of Lowell baby!!!!! Watched this dude get arrested for disorderly conduct numerous times… he’s the man

Took an awful lot to get up from being tripped.He WAS knocked down.Looks like a right hook got him.

Leonard was pushed when off balance, definitely not a knockdown. Leonard was in total control the whole time, just like a champ would be. Eklund out-classed the whole fight and got beat up.

Great fight Dickey was a warrior

Great Fight!

You could tell it was HBO's early days. Kind of a primitive looking broadcast for the number of legends it featured: Sugar Ray, Larry Merchant, and the fabulous Don Dunphy (who's career went all the way back to the second greatest heavyweight championship fight ever, Louis-Conn I)... I guess I have to mention JoJo White and Marvelous Marvin Hagler (who Don Dunphy seems to not have known at the time -- the world would soon know him well)

Who win??

Watching 'Fighter' at the moment. At least I was until I started this video.

The fight in Women in Love was closer.

Да он просто монстр по стойкости!Артуро Гатти своего. времени!

"Ya a bah tenda Chahlene, ya life sucks"

Everdently Dicky was a good fighter to last that long with Sugar Ray, no matter if he smoked crack. A lot of us lose our way but recovered. Nuff said!

A future hall of fame fighter Sugar Ray showed incredible style and balance against a local street fighter who stood his ground and competed. Dickie Eklund paved the way for Mickey Ward with his determination. A classic period piece of fighting lore that is a must see for true fight fans

WoW That's a hell of a good fight