Former champion Julio César Chávez Jr. deported to Mexico, jailed after ICE arrest in Los Angeles

Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. is in a Mexican prison after being deported from the United States. Chávez was arrested in the U.S. last month and accused of cartel involvement. 

Chávez was admitted to a prison in the northern state of Sonora, an official told The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity. Chávez, 39, had a warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged arms and drug trafficking, and ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. Mexico attorney general Alejandro Gertz Manero previously revealed the investigation into Chávez started in 2019.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed Chávez’s deportation during a news conference earlier on Tuesday.

“I understand he was deported,” Sheinbaum told reporters. “I don’t know if it was yesterday or this morning. But they told us he will come to Mexico.”

ICE arrested Chávez on July 2 in Los Angeles, days after losing to Jake Paul in a high-profile boxing fight. Chávez was arrested for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application. The Department of Homeland Security said last month that Chávez overstayed a tourist visa, which expired in February 2024. 

According to law enforcement, Chávez applied for Lawful Permanent Resident status in April 2024 on the grounds of his marriage to a U.S. citizen. Officials say Chávez’s spouse had been connected to the Sinaloa Cartel — designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. government — through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of cartel leader Joaquin Guzman. 

Former WBC middleweight champion Chavez is the son of legendary three-division world champion, Julio César Chávez. In 2012, the younger Chávez was convicted of drunken driving in Los Angeles and sentenced to 13 days in jail. In January 2024, he was arrested on gun charges for allegedly possessing two AR-style ghost rifles.