MICKY WARD - BOXING GLOVE SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: RICHARD "DICKY" EKLUND - HFSID 288614

MICKY WARD and DICKY EKLUND
The two boxing brothers from Massachusetts signed this red right hand Everlast boxing glove
Boxing Glove signed: "Dicky Eklund" and "Micky Wd/The Fighter" in silver felt tip, Red 10 ounce Everlast glove. Micky Ward (born October 4, 1965) became a professional boxer in 1985. Although Ward never held a major title in his junior welterweight division and finished with a strong but not stellar 38-13 record, he was renowned for his heart and stamina in the ring. Particularly famous are Ward's trilogy of fights with Arturo Gatti. Their first confrontation in May 2002, broadcast live on HBO and won by Ward, was named the 2002 Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine. Gatti won the following two matches, with the third and final fight between the two men also earning Fight of the Year plaudits. With this honor, Micky Ward joined all-time greats Rocky Marciano and Carmen Basilio, as the only men to have participated in three straight Fights of the Year. Ward won the 2001 award with a win over Emanuel Augustus. Ward's half-brother Richard "Dicky" Eklund (born May 9, 1957) was an American welterweight boxer who trained Ward full time for 26 fights. Dicky's most notable fight occurred on July 18, 1978 in Boston, Massachusetts. He fought Sugar Ray Leonard, going the distance with the Hall of Fame boxer. Though Leonard won the fight unanimously, Eklund knocked him down in the ninth round. In the 1980's he became addicted to crack cocaine and turned to crime to support his habit. He was sentenced to prison for ten to fifteen years, serving time until he was paroled in 1999. In the 2010 film The Fighter, Mark Wahlberg stars as Micky with Christian Bale portraying his half-brother Dick "Dicky" Eklund, also a former professional boxer. The film chronicles Eklund's struggle with drug abuse and won two Academy Awards. Today, the two brothers operate a boxing gym in Lowell, Massachusetts. Fine condition.