Manos de Piedra get trained in first teaser for Hands of Stone

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Any boxing fan worth their salt knows about Roberto Duran. Widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in the sport's history, Duran held world titles in four different weight classes… but it was his series of fights against Sugar Ray Leonard that has forever defined his career. Later this summer, a biopic of Duran's life and career is set for release from The Weinstein Company, and today we got the first taste of HANDS OF STONE, which refers to the boxer's nickname "Manos de Piedra."

For a film about Duran (as played by Edgar Ramirez), there is a lot of Robert De Niro to go around in the teaser trailer's 56 seconds… much more than I'd prefer to a film not about Duran's trainer Ray Arcel (De Niro's role). I wish we got a better sense of how much of Duran's Panamanian upbringing and rise from nothing the film would dive into, plus how much of Duran's fights would be part of the equation. It appears the film has its sights set on his first interactions with Leonard, but if there isn't a proper build to Duran's rise in the ranks, then it's going to be meaningless. 

HANDS OF STONE is set to enter into the ring on August 26.