Julio César Chávez, the former Mexican boxing champion, said Monday that his son — arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application — “is not a criminal,” and vowed to fight the Trump administration’s allegations.
Chávez Jr., who followed his father’s footsteps in the boxing ring, was arrested on July 2 for the purpose of deportation to Mexico. In his home country, the son is facing organized crime charges.
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The Department of Homeland Security alleges Chávez Jr. stayed in the United States illegally and exhibits links to the Sinaloa cartel, a foreign terrorist organization. His father disputes the criminal allegations.
“It’s complicated, there’s a lot of talk, but we’re calm because we know my son’s innocence,” Chávez Sr. told Spanish-language newspaper El Heraldo. “My son will be anything you want, anything, but he is not a criminal and less everything he’s being accused of.”
In 2019, Mexican authorities began investigating Chávez Jr. after the U.S. filed a complaint against the Sinaloa cartel on organized crime, human trafficking, arms trafficking, and drug trafficking charges. The father said his son’s connections to illicit activities do not inherently mean wrongdoing.
“He knows a lot of people. We live in Culiacan, it would be impossible not to know all of the people that are doing illicit stuff, but that does not mean nothing,” said the elder Chávez, who associated with drug dealers during his boxing fame in the 1980s and 1990s. “In my time I met everybody, and they did not come after me.”
The young boxer’s lawyers requested at least five injunctions in Mexico, but Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero rejected those requests because the defendant is still in the U.S.
“Lawyers in the United States are working to see if he stays there, and we’re prepared if he comes here,” the 62-year-old Chávez said. “We’ll fight under Mexican law if he’s transferred here.”
The arrest came days after Chávez Jr. fought influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who won the match. DHS determined the Mexican boxer’s removal on June 27, one day before his fight with Paul.
It’s unclear why ICE waited for the arrest until days after the high-profile match in Anaheim, California.
“Why did they let him fight? My son has been paying taxes in the United States for three years, and now in Mexico they’re accusing him of money laundering,” the Mexican boxing legend added. “Yes, he knows those people, but that doesn’t mean I’m a drug trafficker. Let’s trust the law.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo on Friday said she hopes the arrested boxer will be deported to Mexico, where he can serve his sentence.
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The 39-year-old Chávez reentered the U.S. illegally in January under the Biden administration, which faced criticism for having lax immigration policies. Months after his visa expired in February 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services notified ICE that Chávez Jr. was an “egregious” public safety threat. Ignoring the warning, the Biden administration did not consider him an immigration enforcement priority.
Chávez Jr. also allegedly lied on his green card application by submitting fraudulent statements when requesting lawful permanent residency in April 2024, based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen. His wife, Frida Muñoz, is connected to the Sinaloa cartel through her prior relationship with the son of the infamous Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who remains in prison for murder and drug trafficking.