It might not be quite the massive draw it once was on television – especially since Ultimate Fighting has eaten into its audience – but boxing and those who step into the ring remain a constant source of fascination for filmmakers. Now Gael Garcia Bernal is pulling on the gloves to play five-time world boxing champion Roberto Duran in Hands of Stone, with Al Pacino considering the key role of his trainer.
Born in Panama, Duran got his professional start in 1968 as a 16-year-old, and eventually retired in 2002 aged 50, earning the nickname "Hands of Stone" along the way. He’s probably best known for two famous fights – a clash with Sugar Ray Leonard in June 1980 which saw him win the WBC welterweight title and a rematch in November the same year, in which he went back to his corner, saying “no mas”, “no more.”
"The infamous 'no mas' fight is the biggest enigma in the history of boxing. This movie will answer that enigma," Venezuelan director Jonathan Jakubowicz tells Variety. He’ll spend $15 million shooting the film in English in Panama and New York early next year, with The Losers’ Oscar Jenada also attached to play an unannounced part.