The former boxing world champion, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles on July 3, 2025, following his defeat to social media star-turned-boxer Jake Paul just four days earlier.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Thursday, July 3, 2025, that the 38-year-old former WBC middleweight titlist is being deported. His arrest also comes from a convoluted web of visa overstay, criminal convictions, and what officials describe as "fraudulent statements" related to his application for U.S. residency. The knockout punch? Accusations of cartel connections have reverberated far beyond the boxing community.
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Chavez legally entered the United States in August 2023 on a B2 tourist visa, but he failed to leave when the visa expired in February 2024, according to DHS. In April, he applied for a green card to become a permanent resident by marrying a United States citizen. But red flags went up over the spouse after DHS learned of her alleged previous relationship with the dead son of cartel chieftain Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, sources said.
This is not Chavez's first run-in with the law, and He was previously convicted in Los Angeles earlier this year on charges of carrying an assault weapon as well as manufacturing or importing a short-barreled rifle. He has also had a 2012 DUI on his rap sheet and an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Mexico on charges of arms trafficking in support of the Sinaloa Cartel.
"An extreme public safety threat" was how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services referred to Chavez in a report in December 2024. However, according to DHS records, he was never initially flagged for deportation by the Biden administration.
Chavez's immigration status faced new scrutiny after he re-entered the U.S. through the San Ysidro port of entry in January. On June 27, 2025, it was official: DHS had determined him to be unlawfully present, and such appearance made him subject to removal.
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin put it bluntly: "It is outrageous the previous administration flagged this criminal illegal alien as a public safety threat, but did not prioritize his removal and allowed him to leave and COME BACK into our country," she said. "Under President Trump, even world-famous athletes are not above the law."
In an apparent warning to others with purported cartel connections, she added: "We will find you and you will be held accountable. The days of the cartel acting with total impunity are over."
The fall of Chavez is a deep shadow not just over his career, but also over his iconic family name. The son of boxing great Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., he was once a prominent member of boxing royalty. Now, a very different battle looms from the one the teenager launched in defiance of the influential American gun lobby, one that could get him deported and barred from returning.
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