Around a year ago, Singer Yang Kun suspended all his music assignments to spend time on boxing training. Now, his upcoming film, The Heart, starring him as an underdog boxer, will open across Chinese mainland on June 14.

The film, directed by Liu Fendou, best known for the 2008 critically acclaimed feature Ocean Flame, is about a former boxing champion's redemption.

The sports-themed film was shot in China and Thailand.

To play a professional boxer, Yang put on 25 kilograms and had to wake up as early as 5 am to train.

Recently during a promotional event in Beijing, Yang explained that the story attracted him for its depiction of humanity and conflicts.

Born in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in 1972, Yang began his career as a pop singer in 1994, winning a string of best singer awards as well as releasing nine albums.

Besides Yang, the movie also features actress Xia Zitong.