Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. has been deported and imprisoned in his native Mexico, according to arrest documents from the country’s National Detention Registry.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the news of Chavez’ impending incarceration on Tuesday.
‘I understand he was deported. I don’t know if it was yesterday or this morning, but we’re informed that he was going to arrive in Mexico,’ Sheinbaum told reporters.
It’s unclear where Chavez Jr. has been held since being taken into ICE custody in Los Angeles’ Studio City last month. He has since been transferred to a border checkpoint and jailed at a federal maximum-security prison in Hermosillo, Sonora.
The son and namesake of Mexico’s greatest boxer, the younger Chavez was arrested by ICE for overstaying his visa and lying on a green-card application. In Mexico, however, he was wanted on allegations of drug and gun trafficking.
His arrest came just a week after his unanimous-decision defeat to influencer-boxer Jake Paul.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is imprisoned in Mexico on a variety of allegations, Sheinbaum said
Chavez was picked up July 2 by ICE agents while riding his scooter in the upscale LA neighborhood of Studio City.
‘Do you have anything in your shoes,’ one agent is heard asking Chavez in Spanish in the clip recorded by Fox LA’s Matthew Seedorff.
‘No,’ Chavez replied, before asking: ‘Do you inform my lawyer when I have a warrant?’
In its statement, DHS explained Chavez Jr’s warrant related to ‘his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives’. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: ‘This Sinaloa Cartel affiliate with an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition, and explosives was arrested by ICE.
Chavez spent considerable time in his native Mexico and the US in recent years, but according to the Department of Homeland Security, his tourist visa expired in February of 2024. The agency further claimed Chavez filed several fraudulent statements while applying for permanent residence in April of 2024 after marrying Frida Muñoz, who is related to imprisoned Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.
Internet-star-turned-boxer Paul pictured alongside Chavez Sr. after beating his son
Mexica President Claudia Sheinbaum has confirmed that Chavez is back in a Mexican jail
The Department of Homeland Security released this mug shot of Chavez Jr. in July
Chavez’s father has openly spoken about his own relationships with the Sinaloa Cartel and, in particular, ‘El Chapo.’
In a podcast with journalist Javier Alarcon in 2021, Chavez revealed: ‘Not just El Chapo, I’ve met all the most wanted drug traffickers, like Amado Carrillo, El Azul [Esparragoza], and El Mayo [Zambada]. ‘I know them all, and they’ve all been my friends, but that’s about it. Those people, if you know them, are good people.’
Donald Trump’s DHS has accused the Biden White House of allowing Chavez to re-enter the US illegally.
‘It is shocking the previous administration flagged this criminal illegal alien as a public safety threat, but chose to not prioritize his removal and let him leave and COME BACK into our country,’ assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
‘Under President Trump, no one is above the law—including world-famous athletes. Our message to any cartel affiliates in the U.S. is clear: We will find you and you will face consequences. The days of unchecked cartel violence are over.’
The arrest came just five days after the 39-year-old’s defeat to boxer Jake Paul
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is congratulated by his legendary father after Chavez Jr. defeated Ruban Galvan in the Junior Welterweight fight on June 25, 2005 in Atlantic City
Chavez Jr. has fought more than 60 times as a professional but the 39-year-old barely laid a glove on Paul during their recent fight.
Paul, who was fighting for the first time since his controversial clash with Mike Tyson, won by scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 98-92.
But Chavez Jr. was once a major prospect, who captured the WBC middleweight title and improved to 46-0-1 with a TKO win over Ireland’s Andy Lee in 2012. And while that proved to be the peak of his career, Chavez has since fought and lost to highly rated pros like Sergio Martinez, Andrzej Fonfara, Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs.
In recent years, both Chavez Jr. and his boxing brother Omar were told by their father to ‘retire’ due to poor training and conditioning.
‘I prefer that they retire if they are not going to prepare correctly,’ Chavez Sr. told reporters. ‘They do not prepare in the best way possible to fight.’
