LOWELL - “Fighting out of the red corner,’’ the announcer bellowed into the microphone, “from the fighting city of Lowell, Massachusetts - Please welcome, Sean Eklund.’’

The 1,200-plus locals in the crowd roared Wednesday night in a way that they have not for close to two decades.

It was a homecoming, in so many ways: for a family, for a city, for a tradition that defines them both.

The 28-year-old Eklund and his childhood friend, “Irish’’ Joey McCreedy, were fighting separately in their first professional boxing matches at Memorial Auditorium in their hometown. And in their corner were Eklund’s uncles, “Irish’’ Micky Ward and his older brother Dicky Eklund, the local boxing heroes whose triumphs and troubles in a dysfunctional family were chronicled in the blockbuster movie “The Fighter.’’

It seems most locals know Ward and the Eklunds and they love them, and they loved “The Fighter,’’ too. And they especially love boxing.

And so it only seemed fitting, now that the shine of the movie’s success has started to fade, that professional boxing resumed at Memorial Auditorium for the first time in seven years, and with the biggest hype since Ward last fought there in 1994. It was only fitting that Ward and Eklund were still there, with the new generation of Lowell fighters.

“That was the day, more than anything, my favorite, being here’’ in Lowell, Dicky Eklund, 55, was saying as he was wrapping McCreedy’s hands for the main event.

Meanwhile, Ward, a former junior welterweight world champion, was helping his nephew warm up before his own bout, having him hit the mitts, telling him to “stay loose.’’

“Don’t fall behind,’’ he was saying. “Stay relaxed. Get out there, stay relaxed.’’

Eklund was about to box before his largest crowd of fans, after a four-fight win streak with bouts in Chicago and Canada.