Eklund 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 a personal trainer and boxing coach in New England. He also travels the United States with Micky Ward, giving motivational speeches to college students. Personal life 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 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 the documentary, Eklund was sentenced to a long prison term for crimes he committed to feed his crack addiction. Professional boxing record See also Notable boxing families References External links 1957 births Living people American male boxers Boxers from Massachusetts Sportspeople from Lowell, Massachusetts Welterweight boxers