Well-known former welterweight boxer Richard “Dicky” Eklund was arraigned in Lowell on Friday on charges of domestic assault and battery.
Eklund, 58, of Lowell, was played by actor Christian Bale in the 2010 film “The Fighter.” He has faced domestic assault-related charges frequently over the years, and has more than 65 arrests on his record, according to the Lowell Sun.
At about 4 p.m. Thursday, Lowell Police responded to a report of domestic assault, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office.
The victim was a woman identified by the district attorney’s office only as a household or family member. She told police that Eklund grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the ground, bruising her arm and chest, according to Ryan’s office.
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Judge Neil Hourihan set Eklund’s bail at $500 in cash at his arraignment in Lowell District Court. He is scheduled for another hearing on Monday, Sept. 21.
Eklund, a three-time Golden Gloves winner, is ordered “to stay away from, and have no contact with, the victim,” Ryan’s office wrote in a statement Friday.
This marks at least five arrests or arraignments on similar charges in the past six years.
Eklund was previously charged with domestic assault and attempted murder in 2009 after police said he strangled his long-time girlfriend during an early morning fight, according to the Lowell Sun. Additionally, he was arraigned in previous incidents for allegedly hitting his girlfriend with a stove grate, threatening her with a knife, strangling her, and pushing her into objects including a window.
“The Fighter” chronicled the early years of Eklund and his half-brother “Irish” Micky Ward, as boxer Ward trained for a historic bout. Decades before the film, for which Bale won an Academy Award, Eklund was one of the addicts tracked in the 1995 HBO documentary “High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell.”
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In multiple earlier altercations, alcohol and drugs were listed as a factors in the assaults. Lowell Police investigated Thursday’s incident, according to the district attorney’s office. Released on his own recognizance in the case involving the stove grate, Eklund was ordered to stay away from drugs and alcohol, according to the Lowell Sun.
The district attorney’s office did not specify whether any substances are thought to be a factor in Thursday's alleged assault, and no futher information was immediately made available. Family members could not be reached for comment Friday evening.
Jennifer Smith can be reached at jennifer.smith@globe.com.