Boxing star who last fought Jake Paul deported to Mexico, accused of cartel ties

Published On: August 21, 2025

More than a month after being detained in the United States for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application, boxing great Julio C. Sar Ch vez Jr. has reportedly been deported to his home country of Mexico, where he is suspected of having ties to drug cartels.

Days after losing a bout to Jake Paul on June 25 in California, Chvez, 39, was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security on July 3. According to a DHS news release, he had an active arrest warrant in Mexico on charges of involvement in organized crime, including connections to the Sinaloa cartel and the trafficking of explosives, ammunition, and guns.

Additionally, according to DHS, he is accused of overstaying his B2 tourist visa, which was unlawfully issued in August 2023 but expired in February 2024.

The Associated Press reports that after being deported, Chavez was taken into custody by Mexican officials and sent to a prison in the northern state of Sonora.

Alejandro Gertz Manero, the attorney general of Mexico, stated that the inquiry into Chavez started in 2019.

Ch vez, a former WBC middleweight champion from 2011–12, is the son of legendary Mexican boxer Julio C. Sar Ch vez. After his arrest last month, his father, a former three-division champion who enjoyed immense fame in Mexico during the 1980s and 1990s, stood up for his son.

According to the AP, the elder Chavez told the newspaper El Heraldo, “It’s complicated, there’s a lot of talk, but we’re calm because we know my son’s innocence.” My son will be anything you want him to be, but he is not a criminal and is not guilty of any of the charges against him.

Since we reside in Culiacan, it would be hard to avoid knowing everyone who is involved in illegal activity, but that does not negate the fact that he knows a lot of individuals. “I met everyone in my time, and they didn’t pursue me,” he continued.

Since his 2003 professional boxing debut, Chvez Jr. has amassed a 54-7-1 record, 34 of which have come via knockout.

In 2012, Chvez was arrested in California on charges of driving while intoxicated. DHS said he received a sentence of 36 months of probation and 13 days in jail.

A District Judge issued an arrest warrant for Chvez in 2023 on charges of organized criminality, including manufacturing and trafficking in firearms. According to a DHS news release, he was also arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department in 2024 on suspicion of manufacturing or importing a short-barreled rifle and unlawfully possessing an assault weapon.