Roselyn Sanchez is hitting the ring in her native Puerto Rico.
The 51-year-old Puerto Rican actress and singer-songwriter is starring in the boxing mother-and-son drama Undercard, which has begun principal photography in Puerto Rico for Catalyst Studios.
In her first big dramatic film role, the film stars Wanda Sykes as Cheryl “No Mercy” Stewart, a two-time former boxing champion and recovering alcoholic.
The film follows her attempts to reconnect with 20-year-old son Keith, a talented but troubled young man, played by rising star Bentley Green, who has followed his mother’s footsteps into the boxing ring.
When Keith finds himself alone in his corner, because of his gambling-addicted trainer, he is forced to turn to his mother. Determined to right past wrongs, she embarks on a mission to train her son for glory in a World Championship title fight.
In addition to Sanchez, Sykes and Green, the film also stars William Stanford Davis, Xavier Mills, Estella Kahiha and Berto Colon.
Undercard is directed by Tamika Miller and co-written by Miller and Anita M. Cal.
The film is billed as following in the tradition of Raging Bull, Million Dollar Baby and Creed, but with the story told through the eyes of the trainer.
“It is about the struggle and survival of the human spirit. Getting up when life does its best to knock you down. This powerful, moving story is a metaphor for our own challenges. And it shows Wanda like we have never seen her before,” said Catalyst Studios Chairperson Holly Anderson Levow.