Former Irish champion boxer Jim Rock has explained how Hollywood heavyweight Matthew McConaughey once fought in Mountjoy Prison on front of the inmates.
The 'Pink Panther' told of how he worked with the actor in 2001 to help train him for a film, with McConaughey even cornering the now retired boxer at a Dublin fight.
McConaughey filmed 2002 movie 'Reign of Fire' in Ireland and Rock helped train him for fight scenes, including a sparring session inside Mountjoy Prison in Dublin.
“I can’t say I remember it — I don’t think it was a good film anyway, was it? I don’t think it got many good reviews," Rock told the Irish Sun.
“Obviously I trained Matthew for his fight scene with Christian Bale.
“He came to one of my fights and he did the corner for one of my fights, carried the spit bucket and was in the corner for me and so on and so forth.
“We had him in Mountjoy Prison. I was sparring the prisoners and he was sparring me in the prison yard with maybe 200 prisoners around. Like a real cool dude.”
Rock enjoyed a stellar boxing career that lasted fourteen years, he's the only boxer to hold Irish titles in four different weight classes.
The biggest fight of his career is thought to be his WBU Light Middleweight Title clash with Mehrdud Takalobigashi at Belfast in 2003, but lost to a ninth round knockout in one of just four career defeats.
