Former middleweight boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was arrested in Studio City four days after losing to Jake Paul in a pay-per-view bout in Anaheim and will be deported to his native Mexico, where the alleged Sinaloa Cartel associate has an outstanding arrest warrant, federal immigration officials said Thursday.
Federal authorities allege that Chavez tried to get permanent status based on his marriage to a woman associated with the now-dead son of imprisoned Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin `El Chapo’ Guzman.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel detained Chavez on Wednesday, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which blamed his presence in the country on the Biden Administration.
In a news release, DHS referred to Chavez as a “prominent Mexican boxer and criminal illegal alien,” and said the son of a similarly named boxing legend is being processed “for expedited removal from the United States.”
“Chavez is a Mexican citizen who has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition and explosives,” according to a DHS statement.
Chávez’s lawyer Michael Goldstein told the sports news website The Athletic that the allegations were `outrageous’ and said the `brazen’ arrest appears “to be designed to terrorize the community.”
“Mr. Chávez is not a threat to the community,” Goldstein said in a statement. “In fact, he is a public figure and has been living out in the open and just fought Jake Paul in a televised boxing match before millions of viewers.
“His workouts were open to the public and afforded law enforcement countless opportunities to contact him if he was indeed a public threat.
“He has been focused on his own personal growth and mental health. He is in full compliance with his mental health diversion and all court obligations. For this reason, we fully expect his only pending case to be dismissed as required by statute.”
Goldstein also claimed that DHS’ news release falsely stated that Chávez had been convicted of gun charges.
“Absolutely incorrect,” Goldstein told The Athletic. “He entered a not guilty plea and was granted diversion which will lead to a complete dismissal.”
According to the government, Chavez entered the U.S. legally in August 2023, having obtained a B2 tourist visa that expired in February 2024.
“Chavez is also believed to be an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” according to the government statement, which said Chavez applied for Lawful Permanent Residence status on April 12, 2024, 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 the infamous cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.
In December of 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services labeled Chavez “an egregious public safety threat” and referred the case to ICE.
“However, an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chavez was not an immigration enforcement priority,” according to the DHS statement. “On Jan. 4, 2025, the Biden administration allowed Chavez to reenter the country and paroled him into the country at the San Ysidro port of entry.”
The government alleges that Chavez made “multiple fraudulent statements on his application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident.”
“He was determined to be in the country illegally and removable on June 27, 2025,” according to DHS statement.
Chavez lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Paul Saturday at the Honda Center.
Chavez won the World Boxing Council middleweight championship with a 12-round majority decision over then-champion Sebastian Zbik on June 4, 2011, at Staples Center, made three successful title defenses, then lost the title to Sergio MartÃnez in a 12-round unanimous decision on Sept. 15, 2012, in Las Vegas.