The 39-year-old fighter, son of Mexican boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez, ended up in custody for alleged cartel connections and immigration violations. U.S. officials plan to deport him to Mexico.
Reforma newspaper revealed on Friday that the Mexican Attorney General's Office (FGR) pegged Chavez Jr. as a 'henchman' for Nestor Ernesto Perez Salas, known as 'El Nini'. The investigation claims Chavez Jr. beat up cartel members who messed up, following orders from the cartel leader.
The FGR got wind of this through two phone calls from suspected drug traffickers. They also used immigration records shared by the U.S. after Chavez Jr. got caught driving under the influence.
One wild incident stands out. A cartel member said 'El Nini' ordered someone tied up and hung like a punching bag for Chavez Jr. to hit. This happened at a safe house that doubled as a weapons warehouse and held kidnapped people.
The case against Chavez Jr. started brewing back in November 2019. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) filed a complaint with Mexican authorities about arms trafficking. This kicked off a big investigation, with officials tapping phones from December 2021 to June 2022.
Chavez Jr.'s recent troubles with immigration added fuel to the fire. He entered the U.S. legally in August 2023 with a visa good until February 2024. Two months after it expired, he applied for permanent residency, claiming he married a U.S. citizen.
By December 2024, officials labeled him "a serious threat to public safety" but didn't arrest him right away. The case picked up steam when they found multiple lies in his residency application, leading to his arrest and upcoming deportation.
"Chavez Jr.'s wife has links to the Sinaloa Cartel through a past relationship with Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's deceased son,"a source close to the investigation revealed.
This arrest comes as another blow to Chavez Jr., who recently lost a fight to YouTuber Jake Paul in Anaheim. The boxer's career and personal life seem to have taken a sharp turn, leaving fans and officials alike wondering what's next for the once-promising fighter.