LOS ANGELES — U.S. immigration officials have arrested famous Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. — days after his high-profile fight with Jake Paul — for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application, officials said Thursday.
Chávez was detained in front of his home on Wednesday and will be deported to Mexico, where he faces organized crime charges, authorities said.
Here’s what to know about this arrest:
The 39-year-old boxer is a former middleweight champion hails from Mexico. His father, Julio César Chávez, is one of the most beloved athletes in Mexican history and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
The son has battled drug addiction for much of his lengthy boxing career, failing drug tests, serving suspensions and egregiously missing weight while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport.
The younger Chavez still rose to the heights, winning the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defending it three times. Chávez shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both.
In 2012, he was convicted of drunken driving in Los Angeles and sentenced to 13 days in jail. Then 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.
Chávez was away from the ring for three years before his return late last year, but Paul’s invitation brought him back again.
According to his attorney, Michael Goldstein, Chávez was picked up Wednesday by a large number of federal agents while he was riding a scooter in front of a home where he resides in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Studio City, near Hollywood.
Goldstein said officials blocked off the street and took Chávez into custody without informing his family. TV stations staked out his home Thursday afternoon and did not see anyone leave his home.
Just days before, Chávez had faced off against influencer-turned-boxer Paul and lost in a highly anticipated fight in Anaheim, California. The Department of Homeland Security said officials had determined Chávez should be arrested June 27, a day before the fight. It was unclear why they waited to act for days after the high-profile event.
Federal officials said in a news release that Chávez overstayed a tourist visa that he entered the U.S. with in August 2023. The visa expired in February 2024, they said.
Homeland Security said Chávez submitted multiple fraudulent statements when he applied for permanent residency on April 2, 2024, based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen, Frida Muñoz.
She is the mother of a granddaughter of imprisoned Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. U.S. officials said he is believed to be affiliated with the powerful Sinaloa Cartel that is blamed for a significant portion of Mexico’s drug violence.
Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office said that an arrest warrant against “Julio “C was issued in March 2023 in an investigation of organized crime and arms trafficking allegations, and that Mexico initiated extradition proceedings on Thursday.
A federal agent who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter confirmed to The Associated Press that “Julio C” is Chávez.
Goldstein, Chávez’s attorney, said he did not know where Chávez was being detained as of Thursday morning.
DHS said Thursday that he was being processed for “expedited removal” from the country.
Chávez’s family issued a statement Thursday afternoon in support of him, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“We have full confidence in his innocence,” the statement said. “We firmly believe that the proper course is to allow the competent authorities to carry out their work without external pressure or speculation.”