By: Sean Crose
A week ago Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Was preparing to engage in a high profile, no doubt lucrative fight with Jake Paul in Las Vegas. Now, the son of boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez is about to be deported after ICE agents arrested him on Wednesday. “On July 2, ICE arrested Mexican boxer and criminal illegal alien Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.” said an official statement from the Department of Homeland Security. “He is now being processed for expedited removal from the United States.”
DHS then dropped a figurative bomb – announcing that the younger Chavez has been wrapped up in a notorious criminal enterprise. “This Sinaloa Cartel affiliate,” the statement continued, “has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunitions and explosives. Under President Trump, NO ONE is above the law—including world-famous athletes. Our message to any cartel affiliates in the U.S. is clear: We will find you and you will face consequences. The days of unchecked cartel violence are over.”
According to the DHS website, Chavez Jr had been marked as a danger. “On December 17, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made a referral to ICE that Chavez is an egregious public safety threat. However, an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chavez was not an immigration enforcement priority.” Chavez Jr, it appears, wanted “to become a Lawful Permanent Resident” of the United States, but there were “multiple fraudulent statements on his application.” Footage of Chavez Jr’s arrest has made it on to social media. Although the fighter has led a roller coaster life, the arrest and potential deportation of Chavez Jr comes as a shock.
Not that long ago, Chavez Jr was a popular fighter who made it to the top of the middleweight division by becoming the WBCs world champion. Even though he lost his belt to Sergio Martinez in 2012, he put the highly regarded Martinez down and nearly out in the final round. Since that time, however, Chavez has been regarded as one of the lazier fighters in the sport. Now he’s in for the fight of his life. ICE has been aggressively tracking down individuals in the country who are not US citizens for some time now, particularly those who are said to have engaged in criminal activity. It’s extraordinary that Chavez Jr went from a pay per view main attraction to an accused criminal in a matter of just a few days.
