Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. deported to Mexico, jailed
Julio C?sar Ch?vez Jr. arrested in Mexico
Boxer Julio C?sar Ch?vez Jr. has been arrested in Mexico after he was deported shortly after his fight against Jake Paul. He's accused of cartel ties and trafficking weapons.
LOS ANGELES - Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. was deported from the United States and entered a prison in the northern Mexico state of Sonora after his arrest in Los Angeles in July, Mexico's national arrest registry shows.
What we know:
During a press conference on Tuesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the 39-year-old had been deported and that there was a warrant for his arrest over charges of arms trafficking and organized crime.
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The backstory:
Chávez Jr., the son of boxing legend Julio César Chávez Sr., was taken into custody on July 2 in Studio City, a neighborhood of Los Angeles.
According to the DHS, Chávez Jr. had been living in the U.S. unlawfully and posed a significant public safety threat.
Officials said Chávez Jr.'s application for permanent residency raised alarms within federal agencies due to what officials described as "multiple fraudulent statements" and connections to the Sinaloa Cartel, a powerful drug-trafficking organization that the Trump administration has designated a foreign terrorist group.
Chávez Jr. also has a criminal record that dates back over a decade, according to the DHS.
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In 2012, he was convicted of drunken driving in Los Angeles and sentenced to 13 days in jail. In January 2024, he was arrested on gun charges. Police said he possessed two AR-style ghost rifles. He was later freed on a $50,000 bond and on condition he went to a residential drug treatment facility. The case is still pending, with Chávez reporting his progress regularly.
In Mexico, he is wanted on charges of weapons trafficking and manufacturing explosives without authorization.
His arrest came just days after the former middleweight champion fought in a match against YouTuber Jake Paul at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Dig deeper:
According to the DHS, Chávez Jr. filed an application for Lawful Permanent Resident status on April 2, 2024. His application was based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen, who is connected to the Sinaloa Cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of notorious cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
On December 17, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made a referral to ICE that Chavez was a "public safety threat." However, the administration of then-President Joe Biden indicated in internal records Chávez Jr. was not an immigration enforcement priority.
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On January 4, 2025, Chávez Jr. was allowed to reenter the U.S., which he did through the San Ysidro port of entry.
DHS officials said due to multiple fraudulent statements on his application, Chávez Jr. was determined to be in the country illegally and eligible to be removed from the U.S. on June 27, 2025.
What we know:
Chávez's father was a massive celebrity in the 1980s and '90s who mixed social circles with drug dealers and claimed to have been friends with drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes.
The younger Chávez has battled drug addiction for much of his boxing career, failing drug tests, serving suspensions and egregiously missing weight while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport.
Chavez won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defended it three times. He shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both.
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The Source: This reporting is based on information from the Mexican national arrest registry, a press conference with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, and a series of statements and internal records from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It also cites information from previous FOX 11 reports and the Associated Press.