Duddy returns to the ring in Hands of Stone movie

JOHN Duddy will return to the ring- but playing Ken Buchanan and not as the Derry Destoryer.

The former middleweight star will playing fighter Ken Buchanan in the movie Hands of Stone about boxer Roberto Duran.

The 35-year-old former middle-weight contender worked on the set of last year’s movie Grudge Match – a comedy about aging fighters starring Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone – to advise on boxing scenes with De Niro.

By all accounts he formed a strong relationship with De Niro and the star of Ragging Bull earmarked him for the Hands of Stone movie.

“Being involved in a project like that was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” Duddy told the New York times.

“In one scene we were filming a news conference when it finally hit me. I’m standing there thinking: ‘Oh my God, I’m shooting a scene with Robert De Niro’.”

The fighter once labelled by ESPN as “the personification of a blood-and-guts warrior” added: “I was very fortunate that New Yorkers took me under their wing. There are so many working-class people in this city, and I was a working-class fighter. That’s why we connected. It’s wonderful to know that some people haven’t forgotten what I did in the ring.

“And hopefully, one day, they’ll also remember me for what I accomplished on the stage and on screen.”