The Southpaw follows Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal), a boxer who loses his wife in an accident and custody of his child after becoming an alcoholic. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and written by Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy), the Jake Gyllenhaal boxing movie sees Billy attempt to get his life back on track and, in the end, fight the formidable Miguel "Magic" Escobar. Southpaw features an all-star cast alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, with names like Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker, 50 Cent, and Miguel Gomez.

Southpaw has all the makings of a genuine sports biopic like King Richard. While all good boxing movies see the protagonist beat overwhelming odds, the tragic story of Billy's losses seems like a real redemption story that very well could've happened. However, the Southpaw true story is stranger than fiction. Technically, the Jake Gyllenhaal boxing movie isn't based on a real boxer's life. That being said, the character of Billy Hope was inspired by an actual person who faced similar hardships and managed to come out on top.

Southpaw Was Written For Eminem

The Boxing Movie Is Inspired Buy Eminem's Life

Southpaw isn't technically true, but it is inspired by rapper Eminem. Kurt Sutter even wrote the film with Eminem in mind to play Billy Hope, a spiritual successor/unofficial sequel to 8 Mile. The movie's boxing elements were supposed to symbolize his life journey, and Billy's relationship with his young daughter Leila (Oona Laurence) was meant to mirror that of Eminem and his daughter Hailie.

While the rapper received great reviews for his performance in 8 Mile, he's been famously reluctant to take up another acting gig since, including turning down the lead role in Elysium. However, he made cameos as himself in movies like Funny People. Eminem was attached to the Antoine Fuqua movie until 2012, with Gyllenhaal eventually replacing him as Billy Hope. The rapper stayed on in a small capacity, producing "Kings Never Die" for the movie's soundtrack.

As good as Jake Gyllenhaal was, it would have been interesting to see Eminem step into the role, especially as his life heavily inspired it. That said, if the rapper wasn't committed to the project, it's for the best he decided to step aside.

Billy Hope Wasn't A Real Boxer

The Boxing Story Was All Fictional In Southpaw

Billy Hope is not based on a real boxer. Instead, it is based on Eminem, and the boxing scenes are meant to be symbolic of the rap battles and the struggles that Eminem had when rising to the top of the rap genre. "[Eminem] is very interested in the boxing genre, and it seemed like an apt metaphor, because his own life has been a brawl," Kurt Sutter said. "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" (via Deadline).​

Why People Think Southpaw Is Based On A True Story

Jake Gyllenhaal's Performance & Realistic Underdog Story Propelled It

Part of the reason that people think Billy Hope was based on a real person in Southpaw is because of Jake Gyllenhaal's performance. The actor notably likes to take on deep character roles and often loses himself in his performance. While Billy Hope wasn't real, the film has all the makings of a true-story-inspired sports biopic, with Gyllenhaal's portrayal of the character ringing particularly true. The Jake Gyllenhaal boxing movie saw such a triumphant arc for the character that many hoped Southpaw was a true story.

However, these triumphs were inspired by the life of Eminem (with boxing being a metaphor for rap battles initially), so while Billy Hope is fictitious, the emotions behind his story come from a real place. When helping to promote the movie, Eminem even complimented Gyllenhaal's performance, saying, "Jake did an incredible job. It's an honor to have him even be a little part of the movie."

Which Boxing Movies Are Based On True Stories?

Raging Bull, Cinderella Man, The Hurricane, & More

While Rocky is typically the first movie that comes to mind regarding boxing dramas, it is also not based on a true story. However, plenty of boxing movies are based on real boxers - both in and out of the ring. The film at the top of most lists is Raging Bull. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, this is the movie that most people point to when looking at Oscar snubs that should have won. De Niro plays Jake LaMotta and his real-life rise and fall in boxing and life.

Another movie that received Oscar attention and even won an award for Best ing Actor (Paul Giamatti) was the 2005 boxing film Cinderella Man​​​​​​. This tells the story of James J. Braddock, a heavyweight boxing champion with the titular nickname who won his title in the 1930s. At the opposite end of Southpaw, some movies are openly biographical about the boxers, like Ali, When We Were Kings, and Big George Foreman, while other films were a little more discreet in their subjects.

The Hurricane told the story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. This was a boxing movie, but it was more of a socially conscious sports biography about a top boxer who ended up arrested and imprisoned after a triple homicide that he wasn't involved with. It took almost 20 years for Carter to get out of prison and have the charges cleared. Another film that seemed fictional but was based on a real boxer was The Fighter, which saw Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale play real-life boxers Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund, with the latter winning an Oscar for his performance.