Shiloh Fernandez is set to play Johnny Tapia in a biopic focusing on the early years of the boxing champion's life.
Eddie Alcazar has been tapped to direct the film from a script that he co-wrote with Bettina Gilios for producers Anonymous Content.
Fernandez began boxing at the age of nine. He became the WBO super flyweight champion and the WBO bantamweight title-holder in the 1990s.
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The project was in the works before the boxer’s death in May. The film is expected to be released in 2013.
Fernandez’s previous credits include “Little Red Riding Hood.” He will next be seen in “The Evil Dead.”
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.