Former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has been released from custody in Mexico pending the start of his trial. The son of boxing idol Julio Cesar Chavez is suspected of having worked for the notorious Sinaloa cartel.
The case of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. continues to make headlines. The professional boxer is being tried on charges of links to a cartel, but he will be released from prison until his trial begins. This was announced by his lawyer Ruben Fernando Benitez Alvarez after he left a court hearing in the northern Mexican city of Hermosillo. According to “Boxingscene”, Chavez Jr.’s lawyer also confirmed that the court had authorized further investigations over the next three months.
Investigations into organized crime
Chavez Jr, who had been living in the United States for several years, was arrested by federal officials outside his home in Los Angeles on July 2. The reason for this was his expired visa. The 39-year-old had also provided false information when applying for a green card. The boxing pro was arrested just a few days after the fight against internet star Jake Paul in Los Angeles.
The Mexican public prosecutor’s office has been investigating Chavez Jr. since 2019, when US authorities filed charges against the Sinaloa cartel for organized crime as well as human trafficking, arms trafficking and drug trafficking. On August 19, 2025, after almost a month and a half in custody, he was deported from the USA and handed over to officials from the federal prosecutor’s office in the Mexican state of Sonora. They transferred him to the Federal Center for Social Reintegration in Hermosillo.
Chavez case got the ball rolling
The Chavez Jr. case led to investigations against a total of 13 people, including Ovidio Guzman Lopez – son of convicted drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman – as well as several associates, hit men and accomplices of the criminal organization. Guzman Lopez was arrested in January 2023 and extradited to the United States eight months later.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said that Chavez Jr. had been wanted in Mexico since 2023 but had not been arrested because he had spent most of his time in the USA. “The hope is that he will be deported and will have to serve his sentence in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said in July.
The case surrounding the scandalous boxer has attracted a great deal of attention because the Trump administration is putting pressure on Mexico to crack down on organized crime. The US authorities have revoked the visas of various well-known Mexican artists and celebrities and stepped up deportations.
Drugs, drunkenness, possession of weapons
The life of the son of wrestling legend Julio Cesar Chavez was repeatedly marked by scandals. Chavez Jr. repeatedly struggled with drug addiction and was arrested several times. He was never able to escape the shadow of his famous and popular father during his career. Although Chavez jr. defeated the German Sebastian Zbik in 2011 to become WBC middleweight world champion, the victory was extremely controversial.
In 2012, a court in Los Angeles sentenced him to 13 days in prison for drunk driving. In early 2024, Chavez Jr. was arrested for gun possession. Shortly afterwards, he was released on bail of 50,000 dollars – on the condition that he attends a facility to treat his addiction.
Text: Frank Schwantes