(Cover) - EN Movies - Antoine Fuqua is being lined up to direct Eminem's new movie Southpaw.

In the movie, the hip-hop star will portray a talented welterweight boxer who battles personal tragedy as he attempts to win a title.

Antoine is famed for helming 2001's Training Day, which saw Denzel Washington win an Oscar. It was believed his next project would be a biopic about rapper Tupac Shakur, but he's now thought to have decided against it.

"Fuqua is set to come aboard Southpaw, a fictional boxing drama written and conceived by Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter and starring the Detroit rapper, said a source briefed on the film who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorised to speak about it publicly," reports LA Times.

Further details about Antoine's involvement haven't been released and a spokesperson for the movie's studio hasn't commented.

Last year, Kurt explained he's been working on Southpaw for some time and is convinced Eminem real name Marshall Mathers - is perfect for the film.

"I took meetings with Marshall's producing partners over the past seven years, looking for something to do together," he explained. "I know he's very selective and doesn't do a lot. He is very interested in the boxing genre, and it seemed like an apt metaphor, because his own life has been a brawl."

The rapper previously enjoyed box office success in 8 Mile. (C) Cover Media