MEXICO CITY (AP) — As a professional, Julio César Chávez fought 115 times in the ring. Now, the former world champion said he was ready to fight outside of it to defend his same-name son, who was arrested by U.S. immigration agents at his Los Angeles home for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application.
The 39-year-old Chávez Jr. also has an active warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged arms and drug trafficking and suggested ties to the Sinaloa cartel.
“It’s complicated, there’s a lot of talk, but we’re calm because we know my son’s innocence,” the elder Chavez told El Heraldo newspaper. “My son will be anything you want, anything, but he is not a criminal and less everything he’s being accused of.”
Alejandro Gertz Manero, Mexico’s Attorney General, said on Sunday that the investigation against Chávez Jr. started in 2019 after a complaint filed by U.S. authorities against the Sinaloa cartel for organized crime, human trafficking, arms trafficking, and drug trafficking.
“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,” Chavez said. “In my time I met everybody, and they did not come after me.”
Chávez Sr. was considered one of the best Mexican boxers of all time; a world champion at three divisions. In the 1980s and ’90s he was a huge celebrity who mixed with drug dealers. He claimed in the past to have been friends with drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes.
Gertz Manero said Chavez Jr.’s lawyers have requested at least five injunctions in Mexico, which have been rejected because the boxer is still in the United States.
“Lawyers in the United States are working to see if he stays there, and we’re prepared if he comes here,” Chavez Sr. said. “We’ll fight under Mexican law if he’s transferred here.”
According to USA Today, Chavez Jr., was expected in a Los Angeles court on Monday to seek an early release from a pretrial diversion program stemming from gun charges in January 2024. His lawyer, Michael Goldstein, said Chavez Jr., was being held by DHS in Hidalgo, Texas, two days ago, but did not know where he was currently.
“We have no idea. We have no information. Unfortunately,” Goldstein told USA Today.
His arrest came only days after the former middleweight champion lost to influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a bout in Anaheim, California.
The Department of Homeland Security said officials determined Chávez Junior should be arrested on June 27, the day before the fight. It was unclear why they waited to act for days after the high-profile event.
“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,” Chavez senior said. “Yes, he knows those people, but that doesn’t mean I’m a drug trafficker. Let’s trust the law.”
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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/hub/boxing
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