Eminem will pull on his boxing gloves to play a welterweight boxer in Southpaw.

The film about a once-victorious fighter who wishes to reclaim his past glory after seeing his world crash down following a tragedy, is to be penned by Sons Of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, and will be inspired by the rapper’s real-life struggles and life.

“I took meetings with Marshall’s producing partners over the past seven years, looking for something to do together – I know he’s very selective and doesn’t do a lot,” Kurt told Deadline.

“He is very interested in the boxing genre, and it seemed like an apt metaphor, because his own life has been a brawl. In a way, this is a continuation of the 8 Mile story, but rather than a literal biography, we are doing a metaphorical narrative of the second chapter of his life.”

It would be Eminem’s second film, following his acclaimed performance in semi-biographical 8 Mile.

“He’ll play a world champion boxer who really hits a hard bottom, and has to fight to win back his life for his young daughter. At its core, this is a retelling of his struggles over the last five years of his life, using the boxing analogy,” Kurt added.

Kurt plans to complete a draft of the script by February.