EXCLUSIVE: The producers of Formula 1: Drive to Survive and boxing legend Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez are forming a team. Box to Box Films and Álvarez’s newly minted Canelo Media business have joined forces under a production deal. It will see Box to Box produce Canelo’s entertainment projects around the world.
The pair plan to work up a wide range of content including documentaries, unscripted and scripted originals, short-form projects and live event specials. We have the news of the tie-up and the launch of Canelo Media, which will be part of the wider Canelo Group of Companies and is being billed as a hub for boxing, sports and lifestyle content.
“I’m incredibly excited to welcome Canelo Media into my expanding business portfolio,” Álvarez told Deadline. “This venture is about bringing untold stories to life, pushing creative boundaries, and building a premier platform in sports and entertainment. I’ve always believed in working alongside the best in their fields, and with Box to Box, I’ve found the right partner to do just that.”
Mexico will serve as a creative base for the Canelo Media-Box to Box projects, but they will also be developed and produced in other countries in Latin America and further afield internationally, the partners said.
As well as popular motor-racing series Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Box to Box’s Netflix credits include Tour de France: Unchained, Simon Cowell: The Next Act and Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen. It also makes Onside: Major League Soccer for Apple TV+ and Faceoff: Inside the NHL for Prime Video.
It has also started partnering with world-famous athletes, in the same vein as with today’s deal with Álvarez. Last year it teamed with champion sprinter Noah Lyles to form the Iconic Productions banner.
Álvarez has been a boxing world champ at four different weights. The story of the Mexican fighter’s preparations for a defining fight against Gennady “GGG” Golovkin is the subject of a recently announced Netflix doc.