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Just days after a high-profile boxing loss to Jake Paul, Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. finds himself at the center of a legal and immigration storm. On Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested the 39-year-old former WBC middleweight champion outside his Studio City home. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed that Chávez is now being processed for expedited removal from the United States.
According to DHS, Chávez overstayed a tourist visa that expired in February 2024. He had entered the U.S. in August 2023. Despite being flagged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as an "egregious public safety threat," Chávez reentered the country on January 4, 2025. Officials allege that he misrepresented details on a green card application submitted in April 2024, based on his marriage to U.S. citizen Frida Muñoz, a former partner of Édgar Guzmán López, son of the notorious Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.
Beyond immigration violations, Chávez faces more serious accusations abroad. Mexican authorities have issued an active arrest warrant linking him to organized crime and the trafficking of firearms, ammunition, and explosives. DHS further stated that they believe Chávez is affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization during Donald Trump's presidency.
Chávez's attorney, Michael Goldstein, has pushed back against the claims. "The current allegations are outrageous and simply another headline to terrorize the community," he told the press. Goldstein noted they were scheduled to appear in court Monday for unrelated gun possession charges and to provide an update on Chávez's substance abuse rehabilitation.
The timing of the arrest has drawn attention, as it follows a major boxing bout in Anaheim, California, where Chávez returned to the ring for the first time since 2021. Despite previous controversies, including failed drug tests and suspensions, Chávez looked revitalized ahead of the match, which he ultimately lost to Jake Paul. His commitment to training and apparent sobriety had raised hopes for a comeback.
Chávez Jr., the son of Mexican boxing icon Julio César Chávez Sr., has had a career marked by flashes of brilliance and deep personal struggles. With deportation likely and serious criminal charges pending in Mexico, the boxer now faces what may be the most formidable fight of his life, not in the ring, but in the courts.
