HERMOSILLO, Mexico — A judge in Mexico said boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. will stand trial over alleged cartel ties and arms trafficking but could await that trial outside of detention, the boxer’s lawyer said.
Chávez’s lawyer, Rubén Fernando Benítez Alvarez, confirmed that the court imposed additional measures and granted three months of further investigation into the case. He described the claims against his client as “speculation” and “urban legends” following the court hearing Saturday in the northern Mexican city of Hermosillo.
If convicted, Chávez — who took part in the hearing virtually from a detention facility — could face a prison sentence of four to eight years, Alvarez said.
Chávez, 39, who had been living in the United States for several years, was arrested in early July by federal agents outside his Los Angeles home, accused of overstaying his visa and providing inaccurate details on an application to obtain a green card. The arrest came just days after a fight he had with famed American boxer Jake Paul in Los Angeles.
Since 2019, Mexican prosecutors have been investigating the boxer following a complaint filed by U.S. authorities against the Sinaloa cartel for organized crime, human trafficking, arms trafficking and drug trafficking.
The case led to investigations against 13 people, among them Ovidio Guzmán López — the son of convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán — along with some alleged collaborators, hit men and accomplices of the criminal organization. Guzmán López was arrested in January 2023 and extradited to the U.S. eight months later.
Following the inquiry, the federal attorney general’s office issued several arrest warrants, including one for Chávez.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that Chávez was wanted since 2023 in Mexico but that he wasn’t detained because he spent most of the time in the U.S.
“The hope is that he will be deported and serve the sentence in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said in July.
The boxer, who is the son of Mexican boxing great Julio César Chávez, was deported by the U.S. on Tuesday and handed over to agents of the federal attorney general’s office in Sonora state, who transferred him to the Federal Social Reintegration Center in Hermosillo.
The high-profile case comes as the Trump administration is pressuring Mexico to crack down on organized crime, canceling visas of notable Mexican artists and celebrities and ramping up deportations.
Chávez has struggled with drug addiction throughout his career and has been arrested multiple times. In 2012, he was found guilty of driving under the influence in Los Angeles and was sentenced to 13 days in jail.
He was arrested last year on suspicion of weapons possession. Police reported that Chávez had two rifles. He was released shortly afterward upon posting $50,000 bail, on the condition that he attend a facility to receive treatment for his addiction.
MEXICO CITY — Julio César Chávez Jr., whose high-profile boxing career was marred by substance abuse and other struggles and never approached the heights of his legendary father, was in Mexican custody Tuesday after being deported from the United States.
His expulsion had been expected since July, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him outside his Studio City home and accused him of making “fraudulent statements” on his application to become a U.S. permanent resident.
In Mexico, Chávez, 39, faces charges of organized crime affiliation and arms trafficking, Mexican authorities say.
He is the son of Julio César Chávez — widely regarded as Mexico’s greatest boxer — and spent his career in the shadow of his fabled father.
Boxers Julio César Chávez, right, and his son Julio César Chávez Jr., during a news conference in Los Angeles in May.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
His father both supported his troubled son and chastised his namesake, whose struggles included substance abuse, legal troubles and challenges in making weight for his bouts.
Despite his highly publicized problems, Chávez won the World Boxing Council middleweight title in 2011 before losing the belt the following year.
Chávez was turned over to Mexican law enforcement authorities at the Arizona border and was being held Tuesday in a federal lockup in Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora state, authorities here said.
During her regular morning news conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that the boxer was in Mexican custody.
Days before his July arrest in Studio City, Chávez faced off in Anaheim for his last bout — against Jake Paul, the influencer-turned-pugilist. Chávez lost the fight.
When he was arrested in July, U.S. authorities labeled Chávez an “affiliate” of the Sinaloa cartel, which is one of Mexico’s largest — and most lethal — drug-trafficking syndicates.
Jake Paul, right, and Julio César Chávez Jr., left, exchange punches during their cruiserweight bout in Anaheim on June 28.
(Anadolu / Anadolu via Getty Images)
Chávez has faced criticism over alleged associations with cartel figures, including Ovidio Guzmán, a son of infamous drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, now serving a life sentence in a U.S prison for his leadership role in the Sinaloa cartel. Ovidio Guzmán recently pleaded guilty to drug-trafficking and other charges in federal court in Chicago and is reported to be cooperating with U.S. prosecutors.
Controversies have long overshadowed the career of Chávez.
Chávez served 13 days in jail for a 2012 drunk-driving conviction in Los Angeles County and was arrested by Los Angeles police in January 2024 on gun charges. According to his attorney, Michael Goldstein, a court adjudicating the gun case granted Chávez a “mental health diversion,” which, in some cases, can lead to dismissal of criminal charges.
“I’m confident that the issues in Mexico will be cleared up, and he’ll be able to continue with his mental health diversion” in California, Goldstein said.
A lingering question in the case is why Chávez was apparently allowed to travel freely between the United States and Mexico on several occasions despite a Mexican arrest warrant issued against him in March 2023.
On Jan. 4, 2025, according to the Department of Homeland Security, Chávez reentered the United States from Tijuana into San Diego via the San Ysidro port of entry. He was permitted in despite the pending Mexican arrest warrant and a U.S. determination just a few weeks earlier that Chávez represented “an egregious public safety threat,” the DHS stated in a July 3 news release revealing the boxer’s detention.
Homeland Security said that the Biden administration — which was still in charge at the time of Chávez’s January entry — had determined that the boxer “was not an immigration enforcement priority.”
While in training for the Paul match, Chávez spoke out publicly against President Trump’s ramped-up deportation agenda, which has sparked protests and denunciations across California. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he accused the administration of “attacking” Latinos.
Chávez told The Times: “I wouldn’t want to be deported.”
McDonnell reported from Mexico City and El Reda from Los Angeles. Special correspondent Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City contributed to this report.
Son of a legendary former world champion boxer, Julio Cesar Chavez is deported by the US, facing charges of arms trafficking and organised crime in Mexico.
Former champion boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr has been detained in Mexico after being deported by the United States to face drug trafficking-related charges, Mexican authorities said.
Chavez, the son of legendary boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, was handed over at midday on Monday and transferred to a prison in Mexico’s northwest Sonora state, according to information published Tuesday on the country’s National Detention Registry.
“He was deported,” President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters, adding that there was an arrest warrant for him in Mexico.
She previously said there was a warrant for his arrest for charges of arms trafficking and organised crime, and that prosecutors were working on the case.
The Mexican attorney general’s office declined to comment.
Chavez Jr, the son of a legendary former world champion boxer, Julio Cesar Chavez, was detained by US immigration authorities shortly after losing in a sold-out match to American influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
Retired boxer Julio Cesar Chavez urges on his son Julio as he fights against Sergio Martinez during their title bout at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, the US, September 15, 2012 [Steve Marcus/Reuters]
Mexican prosecutors allege he acted as a henchman for the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, which Washington designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” earlier this year.
Chavez Jr’s lawyer and family have rejected the accusations.
Mexico’s national registry showed that the boxer was arrested at a checkpoint in the Mexican border city of Nogales at 11:53am (18:53 GMT) and transferred to a federal institution in Sonora’s capital of Hermosillo. Chavez Jr was wearing a black hoodie and red sneakers, it said.
Chavez Jr won the World Boxing Council middleweight championship in 2011, but lost the title the following year.
His career has been overshadowed by controversies, including a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance in 2009, and a fine and suspension after testing positive for cannabis in 2013.
When Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill last year that could have led to reparations for Mexican American families forced from their homes in Chavez Ravine in the 1950s, few knew the Dodgers had weighed in.
Newsom’s explanation was brief. He supported making amends for the injustice that occurred when Los Angeles officials uprooted three communities, seizing land for a housing project that would ultimately fall through before selling it to the Dodgers to enable the team’s move from Brooklyn. But the governor didn’t like that the bill would create a state-level task force rather than a local commission.
“A task force to study the events that occurred should be established at the local level,” Newsom wrote.
But previously unreported records show that the Dodgers lobbied state officials on the bill — as did the baseball team’s previous owner, Frank McCourt, who still shares ownership of the Dodger Stadium parking lots. McCourt’s lobbyists at the time included a firm led by Newsom’s friend Jason Kinney, whose French Laundry birthday dinner Newsom infamously attended at the height of the pandemic.
The records show that the Dodgers and McCourt lobbied on Assembly Bill 1950 — but not what side they took, if any. Did they oppose the legislation? And if so, did that lead to Newsom’s veto? It’s hard to know, because neither the Dodgers nor McCourt responded to my requests for comment.
As for Newsom, a spokesperson told me the governor’s office wasn’t lobbied on the bill — despite McCourt’s real estate company reporting otherwise.
Whatever actually happened, the Dodgers’ involvement raises questions about what went on behind the scenes. The public deserves answers — especially now that President Trump’s immigration raids have placed the team in the political spotlight, forcing its owners to grapple with the political and cultural power they wield.
For nearly two weeks after federal agents began rounding up brown-skinned people across the region, the team refused to comment, despite its more-than-40%-Latino fan base. For many fans, the silence felt like a betrayal — particularly after the team’s recent visit with Trump. A Dodgers employee even told Latina musician Nezza not to sign the National Anthem in Spanish before a game. (She did it anyway.)
I’ll get back to the ICE raids and reparations bill shortly. But first, let’s note that this is hardly the first time that the Dodgers have hesitated to stand for social justice — despite being the franchise of Jackie Robinson.
Since last summer, 28,000 people have signed a petition urging the team to end its relationship with oil company Phillips 66, which advertises its 76 brand gasoline throughout Dodger Stadium. State officials have accused the oil giant of participating in a “decades-long campaign” to cover up the climate crisis — a crisis that affects everybody but is especially harmful to low-income families and people of color, including L.A.’s Latino communities.
A 76 gasoline ad above the right-field scoreboard at Dodger Stadium, seen during a July 4 game against the Astros.
(Kevork Djansezian / Los Angeles Times)
In March, California Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) called on the Dodgers to drop Phillips 66 as a sponsor. In a letter to controlling owner Mark Walter, she pointed out that Angelenos breathe some of the nation’s most polluted air. She also alluded to the link between fossil fuels and more devastating wildfires.
“For decades, the Dodgers have been ahead of the curve. On issues from banning cigarette ads to making history by signing Jackie Robinson, this team has occupied a unique place in American sports,” Gonzalez wrote.
How have the Dodgers responded? At least publicly, they haven’t. Every time I’ve written about Phillips 66, they’ve declined to respond. I suspect they’re hoping the whole issue will just go away.
News flash: It’s not going away. Especially after the ICE raids.
To understand the connection between immigration and environmental justice, I’d recommend listening to Alicia Rivera. She’s an organizer with Communities for a Better Environment, and she’s spoken at rallies outside Dodger Stadium protesting Phillips 66. Even before Trump launched his harsh anti-immigrant crackdown last month, she was explaining how deportations and dirty air are part of the same system of injustices.
As drivers entered the Dodger Stadium parking lots before a game in May, she talked about her young grandson, and her fears over what kind of world he would inherit: How much worse would wildfires get? Would fossil-fueled weather disasters in other countries prompt even more refugees to flee to the U.S.?
“Workers are being detained, arrested in the middle of the street, people who don’t even identify themselves are deporting them. And these oil companies have been complicit in denying us to know the truth, paying millions to pay so-called scientists to deny that their products have caused climate change,” Rivera said.
When I asked Rivera if dumping 76 would be a worthy response to the ICE raids — a way for the Dodgers to show that they care about Latino fans — she had a simple answer: “Of course. That would be a major breakthrough.”
“I see a consistent pattern of disregard for the well-being of the people they are profiting from,” she said.
Community organizer Alicia Rivera speaks at a rally outside Dodger Stadium on Sept. 22.
(Marcus Ubungen / Los Angeles Times)
That pattern arguably goes back decades.
The Chavez Ravine bill wouldn’t have forced the Dodgers to pay a cent to displaced families or their descendants; all it would have done is create a task force to study reparations. But the team has long shied away from so much as discussing the land’s grim backstory.
Only five entities paid lobbyists to weigh in on AB 1950, per an open-source database that compiles state records. Two of them — Fieldstead and Co. and Inclusive Action for the City — went on record supporting the legislation. I confirmed that a third group, the Western Center on Law & Poverty, was also in support.
Only the Dodgers and McCourt’s real estate company, McCourt Partners, haven’t publicly taken a stance.
The Dodgers lobbied the Legislature on AB 1950, while McCourt lobbied both the Legislature and the governor’s office, the records show.
Again, it’s tough to know what happened behind the scenes. Lawmakers passed the bill overwhelmingly, but only after a Senate committee nixed plans for a local task force — exactly what Newsom claimed he wanted.
As far as Wendy Carrillo is concerned, though, the lobbying records speak for themselves.
Carrillo was the state Assembly member, no longer in office, who wrote AB 1950. When I told her what I’d learned, she was outraged. She felt the records confirmed her suspicion that the Dodgers helped kill the bill.
She accused the team of “being disconnected from the very fan base that they have.”
“That same criticism can be made toward their visit to Trump at the White House, and their lack of understanding this moment in Los Angeles amid the growing ICE raids,” Carrillo said.
Dodgers owner Mark Walter looks on as President Trump speaks at the White House in April. The team visited Washington, D.C., to celebrate its 2024 World Series championship.
(Alex Wong / Getty Images)
Indeed, many fans are far from satisfied with the team’s response to Trump’s cruelty. Which is no surprise, given that the Dodgers still seem eager to avoid angering Trump. Team president Stan Kasten was maddeningly vague in his statement touting the $1 million for immigrants, describing the raids as “what’s happening in Los Angeles” and acknowledging only that said happenings have “reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people.”
In contrast, L.A. women’s soccer team Angel City spoke up immediately about the “fear and uncertainty” created by the raids. Its players wore “Immigrant City Football Club” shirts that declared, “Los Angeles is for everyone.”
To Carrillo, the Dodgers’ latest failure to show true solidarity with its Latino fan base is another manifestation of the team’s original sin — its decades-long refusal to acknowledge the Mexican American communities of Bishop, La Loma and Palo Verde, which were bulldozed to make way for Dodger Stadium.
Carrillo, who’s running for state Senate in a district that would include Dodger Stadium, wants Walter and his co-owners — who include basketball legend Magic Johnson and tennis star Billie Jean King — to support a memorial for displaced Chavez Ravine families. And to offer more vocal support for persecuted immigrants today.
The team said its $1 million in donations would be followed by “additional announcements.” So far, crickets.
Owning up to Chavez Ravine’s sordid history would be a great step. So would getting rid of the 76 ads.
Both actions would infuriate the MAGA crowd — but so would just about anything the Dodgers might do in response to the ICE raids. In fact, the backlash has already started. A group co-founded by Trump aide Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s anti-immigrant policies, has filed a civil rights complaint against the Dodgers.
Whatever they do next, the Dodgers will make some enemies. Just like they did when they signed Jackie Robinson and broke baseball’s color barrier. The only question is whether they’ll once again stand for justice.
This is the latest edition of Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment in the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. And listen to our “Boiling Point” podcast here.
US immigration agents arrested Chavez earlier this week, with authorities alleging ties to Mexican cartel.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced she expects boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr to soon be deported from the United States to serve a sentence for arms trafficking and organised crime.
Sheinbaum explained on Friday that Mexico has had an arrest warrant for the boxer since 2023, stemming from an investigation initiated in 2019. But Chavez had not previously been arrested because he spends most of his time in the US.
““The hope is that he will be deported and serve the sentence in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said, adding: “That’s the process the attorney general’s office is working on.”
Her statement comes two days after Chavez was detained in Los Angeles by US immigration authorities, after they determined he made fraudulent statements in a 2024 application for permanent residency.
The son of a boxing legend, Chavez appeared last weekend in a sold-out match in Anaheim, California. But he lost to 28-year-old influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a unanimous decision after 10 rounds.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr throws a punch at Jake Paul during their cruiserweight boxing match in Anaheim, California [Etienne Laurent/The Associated Press]
Alleged ties to cartel
Following his arrest, the US Department of Homeland Security said that Chavez is suspected of having ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.
The US has designated the group and several other Latin American cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations” as part of a wider effort to staunch cross-border crime.
The administration has also sought to surge deportations in recent years, to make good on US President Donald Trump’s campaign promises.
Michael Goldstein, a lawyer for Chavez, said more than two dozen immigration agents arrested the boxer at his home in the Studio City area of Los Angeles on Wednesday.
“The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorise the community,” Goldstein said.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr is seen in Anaheim, California [File: Etienne Laurent/The Associated Press]
Chavez’s family in Mexico said in a statement that they “fully trust his innocence”.
His wife, Frida Munoz Chavez, was previously married to the son of the former Sinaloa Cartel leader, who is serving a life sentence in a US prison, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. That son, Edgar, was assassinated in Culiacan, Mexico, in 2008.
Speaking on Friday, Sheinbaum said she did not know if the boxer had any ties to the cartel.
The son of Mexican world champion fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, Chavez had won the WBC middleweight championship in 2011. He lost the title the following year.
However, his career has been largely overshadowed by controversies, including a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance in 2009 and a fine and suspension after testing positive for marijuana in 2013.
July 3 (UPI) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested former middleweight world champion boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Wednesday in Studio City, Calif., due to alleged cartel ties.
Chavez “has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition and explosives,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a news release on Thursday.
“It is shocking the previous administration flagged this criminal illegal alien as a public safety threat, but chose not to prioritize his removal and let him leave and come back into our country,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
“Under President Trump, no one is above the law — including world-famous athletes.”
DHS accuses Chavez of being a “criminal illegal alien” and said the Biden administration determined he was not an immigration enforcement priority despite knowing he had been “flagged as a public safety threat.”
Chavez legally entered the country on a tourist visa in August 2023 and is “believed to be an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel,” which is a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to the DHS.
The tourist visa expired in February 2025, and Chavez on April 2, 2024, filed an application to become a lawful permanent resident.
His application is based on being married to a U.S. citizen, who DHS says is connected to the Sinaloa Cartel through the now-dead son of cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
DHS officials said Chavez made “multiple fraudulent statements” on the application, determined he illegally was in the United States and was removable as of Friday.
Officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in December had notified ICE that Chavez “is an egregious public threat.”
Despite the notice, the Biden administration on Jan. 3 allowed Chavez to re-enter and paroled him into the country at the San Ysidro, Calif., port of entry.
While in the United States, Chavez was arrested, charged and convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and driving without a license in 2012.
A district judge in 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Chavez for alleged organized criminal activities involving firearms, ammunition and explosives, according to DHS.
He also was arrested on Jan. 7, 2024, by Los Angeles Police and charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacture of a short-barreled rifle.
United States immigration agents have detained prominent Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. and are working to deport him, with officials saying he has “an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested Chávez, 39, in Studio City on Wednesday and are processing him for expedited removal from the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.
A Homeland Security news release said Chávez had been flagged as a public safety threat, but “the Biden administration indicated in internal records he was not an immigration enforcement priority.”
Last year in January, officials said, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested Chávez and he was charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacture or import of a short barreled rifle. He was later convicted of the charges.
Chávez’s manager, Sean Gibbons, told The Times they are currently “working on a few issues” following the boxer’s arrest but had no further comment.
Michael A. Goldstein, a lawyer who has worked with Chávez in previous cases, said his client “was detained outside of his residence by 25 or more ICE and other law enforcement agents.”
“They blocked off his street and took him into custody leaving his family without any knowledge of his whereabouts,” Goldstein said. “The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community. Mr. Chavez is not a threat to the community.”
The son of Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez, widely regarded as the greatest boxer in his country’s history, Chávez Jr. faced off on Saturday against influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul and lost.
Two weeks before the Anaheim bout against Paul, Chávez held a public workout in Maywood, where he spoke to The Times. He revealed that one of his trainers had skipped the training session out of fear of immigration enforcement.
“I was even scared, to tell you the truth. It’s very ugly,” Chávez said. “I don’t understand the situation — why so much violence? There are a lot of good people, and you’re giving the community an example of violence. I’m from Sinaloa, where things are really ugly, and to come here, to such a beautiful country with everything… and see Trump attacking immigrants, Latinos, for no reason. Not being with God makes you think you know everything. Trump made a bad decision.”
He added: “After everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t want to be deported.”
When U.S. officials announced the arrest Thursday, they referred to Chávez as an “affiliate of the Sinaloa cartel.” The Trump administration has designated the Mexican drug trafficking group as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
“Under President Trump, no one is above the law — including world-famous athletes,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
According to the Homeland Security news release, Chávez entered the country legally in August 2023, with a B2 tourist visa that was valid until February 2024. He had filed an application for lawful permanent resident status last year in April, officials said, based on his marriage to Frida Muñoz, a U.S. citizen, who U.S. officials said “is connected to the Sinaloa cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.”
El Chapo, a known fan of Chávez Sr. during his fighting days, is now serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison after a 2019 conviction for his leadership role in the Sinaloa cartel.
Muñoz was previously in a relationship with Edgar Guzmán Loera, El Chapo’s eldest son, who was killed in Sinaloa in 2008.
The couple had a daughter, Frida Sofía Guzmán Muñoz. Following Edgar’s death, Muñoz distanced herself from the family and moved to the United States, eventually beginning a relationship with Chávez. Their daughter, Frida Sofía, has recently launched a music career and frequently attends her stepfather’s fights, including the most recent fight in Anaheim.
Chávez has faced criticism over alleged associations with figures linked to drug trafficking. In lengthy social media videos, he has claimed friendship with Ovidio Guzmán, another son of El Chapo who court records show has agreed to plead guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in Chicago.
Last year, on Dec. 17, according to the Homeland Security news release, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made a referral to ICE that Chávez was “an egregious public safety threat.”
“However, an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chávez was not an immigration enforcement priority,” the release stated.
According to the release, Chávez was allowed to reenter the country on Jan. 4 at the San Ysidro port of entry.
“Following multiple fraudulent statements on his application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, he was determined to be in the country illegally and removable on June 27,” the Homeland Security release stated.
Chávez has been in the boxing spotlight since childhood, often walking to the ring alongside his father. He began his professional career in 2003 and reached the pinnacle in 2011 when he won the WBC middleweight title against Sebastian Zbik. He defended the belt three times before losing it to Sergio Martínez in 2012.
However, his career has been plagued by discipline issues, substance abuse, and struggles with making weight. In 2017, he faced fellow Mexican star Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, suffering a lopsided unanimous decision loss that marked a turning point in his career’s decline.
Nicknamed “El Hijo de la Leyenda” (“Son of the Legend”) or simply “JR,” Chávez Jr. has had legal and personal troubles in recent years. He was arrested on suspicion of weapons possession and later entered a residential rehab facility. His battle with addiction has frequently played out in the public eye, including viral social media disputes with his father, one of his most vocal critics, yet also his most steadfast supporter.
According to Homeland Security, Chávez was convicted in 2012 of driving under the influence of alcohol and was sentenced to 13 days in jail and 36 months of probation.
Goldstein, Chávez’s lawyer, noted that his client is a public figure who has been living and working in the U.S. without issue in recent weeks. Goldstein pointed to his recent fight, saying, “His workouts were open to the public and afforded law enforcement countless opportunities to contact him if he was indeed a public threat.”
“He has been focused on his own personal growth and mental health,” Goldstein said. “He is in full compliance with his mental health diversion and all court obligations. For this reason, we fully expect his only pending case to be dismissed as required by statute.”
In 2023, according to Homeland Security, a judge in Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Chávez “for the offense of organized crime for the purpose of committing crimes of weapons trafficking and manufacturing crimes.”
The release said the warrant was for “those who participate in clandestinely bringing weapons, ammunition, cartridges, explosives into the country; and those who manufacture weapons, ammunition, cartridges, and explosives without the corresponding permit.”
Mexican authorities, who typically do not reveal the full names of suspects in criminal cases, said Thursday that federal prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for Julio “C” in March 2023 for organized crime and arms trafficking. A news release from Mexico’s equivalent of the attorney general’s office said U.S. officials had started the process of turning him over to face justice.
Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell contributed to this report.
It took Julio César Chávez Jr. three rounds to throw an accurate punch, three more to show he was awake and three more to remember he could fight. The Mexican boxer’s effort was not enough and he lost by unanimous decision to Jake Paul, who showed many defensive deficiencies that Chávez — a former middleweight champion — did not take advantage of.
While Chávez was slowly reacting to his opponent, Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) was scoring points, forcing the son of Mexican legend Julio César Chávez to row against the current in the bout’s final rounds. Julio César Chávez Jr. seemed disconnected in the early rounds and spent time complaining to the referee about alleged headbutts and ill-intentioned punches from his opponent.
“I reacted too late,” said Chávez (54-7-1, 34 KOs) after Saturday night’s bout at the Honda Center in Anaheim, where his frustrated father was among the fans. Julio César Chávez frequently stood up from his seat and shouted directions to his eldest son.
“He’s a strong fighter and after the first three or four rounds, he got tired, so I think he’s not ready for championship fights, but he’s a good fighter,” Julio César Chávez Jr. said of Paul — a YouTube star turned boxer — after the loss.
Despite his poor start and loss, Chávez was not booed. Paul earned that right from the first moment cameras captured his walk to the ring before the fight began.
The decibels erupted when Paul appeared wearing the colors of the Mexican flag on his robe as he walked to the ring to the rhythm of Kilo’s “Dance Like a Cholo.”
“It’s one of the songs I used to dance to when I was a kid,” Paul said during a news conference after the fight.
Paul did it, he said, in honor of Mexican legend Julio César Chávez.
“It was an ode to his father,” Paul assured. “I wore the same outfit as his dad every time I walked to the fights. It’s a respect to his dad. But also, when I got in the ring, I said, ‘I’m going to be your daddy tonight.’”
(Etienne Laurent / Associated Press)
After speaking with reporters, Paul improvised a face-off when he crossed paths with Gilberto Ramirez, the evening’s co-main event. Ramirez is the World Boxing Assn. (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) cruiserweight champion after defending his belts against Cuba’s Yuniel Dorticos.
Ramirez is not exactly a fighter known for creating an intense pre-fight atmosphere, but he presents another opportunity for Paul to cement himself as a legitimate boxer. Paul has said he has faced difficulty scheduling fights after his unconventional move from YouTube stunts to sanctioned boxing.
“I still want to do it. I’m used to these guys not being good promoters and at the end of the day, I’m going to fight these guys,” Paul said. “Today, I feel like it was the first day of my boxing career, I’m just warming up and this is the second chapter from here on out.”
Paul has been consistently criticized for not facing trained boxers. Chávez was just the third boxer Paul has faced in his 13 fights since debuting in January 2020. In 2024, 58-year-old legend Mike Tyson was the second fighter he faced.
Paul’s only loss came at the hands of Tommy Fury in February 2023.
“I don’t think I was a fighter at the time, I was barely two and a half years into the sport,” Paul said, reflecting on his start in the sport and loss to Fury. “I didn’t really know what I was doing. I didn’t have the right equipment around me, the right conditioning. My lifestyle outside of the ring was still like that of a YouTuber, a famous actor or whatever it was at that point in time. I wasn’t completely focused on boxing.
”… Chapter one is over today and now I’m moving on to chapter two. … People still hold the Tommy Fury fight against me, but now I’ve beaten a former world champion and I’m coming to collect on that loss to Tommy.”
Jake Paul, right, punches Julio César Chávez Jr. during their cruiserweight boxing match on Saturday at the Honda Center.
(Etienne Laurent / Associated Press)
In the co-feature, Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) defended his cruiserweight titles against mandatory challenger Dorticos (27-3, 25 KOs). Ramirez won by unanimous decision after the judges’ scorecards read 115-112, 115-112, 117-110.
“I think it was a good performance, he can hit. I don’t know why it was so close in the scores, but it is what it is,” Ramírez said.
He is eager to lock in a unification fight against International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Jai Opetaia.
“We’re going to unify titles,” Ramirez said. “I just had to follow my plan, listen to my corner and get the job done, that’s all.”
Although Ramirez entered the fight as the favorite to defend his belts, the Mexican was slow, allowing the scores to be closer than expected. Dorticos was decisive in the early rounds, but as time went on, Ramirez made up ground. Dorticos lost a point after the referee penalized him for connecting consecutive low blows.
Making her return to professional boxing after a 12-year absence, former UFC champion and ring veteran Holly Holm (34-2-3, 9 KOs) faced undefeated Mexican Yolanda Vega Ochoa (10-1, 1 KOs) in a 10-round bout. Holm dominated from the start, setting the pace with her jab, controlling her opponent’s attack and using precise combinations. Vega opted to press, but landed constant clean punches and was unable to connect meaningful combinations that would turn the tide of the fight.
Holm won by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 100-90. Her performance was resounding because of her tactical control, mobility and ability to neutralize Vega’s offense, who was unable to break her strategy or avoid the cleaner punches.
“I love kicking so much that I loved MMA for a while, but then I started to feel a growing pain from wanting to box again, so it’s been fun to come back and just get those boxing arms going,” Holm said. “I only sparred in wrestling shoes twice, I was barefoot the whole camp, I was looking for my groin protector the day I flew in, it was in the dumpsters in my garage. I’m still training with the same team, with the same trainers, I did the whole camp. I haven’t sparred in a ring in I don’t know how long, so this feels great.”
With a great combination and a powerful uppercut, Mexican Raúl Curiel (16-0-1, 14 KOs) knocked down Uruguayan Victor Rodríguez (16-1-1, 9 KOs) in the fourth round and although the Uruguayan managed to get to his feet, he did not have the power to stop an onslaught from Curiel. The referee stopped the fight at the 2:09 mark during the fourth round.
The fight determined the mandatory challenger for the World Boxing Assn. (WBA) welterweight title.
“It was an eliminator for the title, so I pushed myself,” said Curiel, a Tampico, Tamaulipas, native. “I knew it would end in knockout. I didn’t know which round, but knockout. I was strong.”
Rodríguez finished the fight in bad shape, with his nose injured and one eye swollen and bleeding.
Now Curiel wants to fight Rolando Romero, the WBA welterweight champion who most recently beat Ryan Garcia by unanimous decision in May.
“With whoever, whatever champion is available,” Curiel said. “Let’s fight Rolly. We fight all the champions.”
Welterweight Julian Rodríguez (24-1, 15 KOs) earned a dramatic win over Avious Griffin (17-1, 16 KOs), who lost his undefeated record and at times appeared to be in control of the bout. With five seconds left in the 10th round, Rodríguez knocked Griffin down in such a way that he almost knocked him out of the ring.
The fight was mostly evenly matched and two of the judges had the bout as a draw, while the third gave Rodríguez the win by two points.
“All the sacrifice, all the pain to get to this point,” Rodriguez, who was clearly exhausted, said in the ring. “It was pure emotion. Now I’ll be back in the gym in the next two or three weeks.”
In a lightweight bout, Floyd Schofield (19-0, 13 KOs) wasted no time and in just 78 seconds of the first round took out veteran Tevin Farmer (33-9-1, 8 KOs). Schofield knocked Farmer down twice and the referee stopped the bout at the 1:18 mark.
In February, Schofield had a fight scheduled against World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Shakur Stevenson in Saudi Arabia, but he was unable to make it because he was hospitalized twice before that bout. Schofield has not explained the reasons for his hospitalization.
“I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” Schofield said after Saturday’s win over Farmer. “They doubted me since what happened in February, and a lot of people didn’t believe I would win this fight. It’s just a lot of excitement.”
Preliminary fight results
In a welterweight bout, Joel Iriarte defeated Kevin Johnson by unanimous decision: 78-74, 80-72, 79-74.
Bantamweight Alexander Gueche was the winner against Vincent Avina: 80-72, 80-72, 79-73.
At heavyweight, Joshua Edwards knocked out Dominic Hardy in the first round.
Super featherweight René Alvarado beat Víctor Morales by unanimous decision: 96-94, 99-91, 99-91.
John Ramírez defeated Josué Jesús Morales at bantamweight by unanimous decision: 79-73, 80-72, 80-72.
Jake Paul appeared to be taking the biggest risk of his unique boxing career by stepping in the ring with Julio César Chávez Jr., a former middleweight champion and his most accomplished opponent by far.
At least it seemed like a risk — until a lifeless Chávez meekly waited until the ninth round to mount any offense, dismaying a crowd desperate for him to hurt the famous YouTuber-turned-pugilist.
Paul shrugged it all off and rolled to another victory. After all, he’s the star of every show.
Paul beat Chávez by unanimous decision Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, dominating the early rounds before weathering Chávez’s late rally for his sixth consecutive win.
Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) had little trouble from the 39-year-old Chávez (54-7-2), controlling the majority of the bout in front of an ardently pro-Chávez crowd in Southern California.
“I love that he brought a good fight at the end, and I think the fans got a good fight to see him come out, put some punches on me,” Paul said. “It makes me better. I had to elevate tonight and rise to a different level. I’m glad the fans got to see me get punched in the face a little bit.”
Even with his famous father shouting furiously at ringside, Chávez fought tentatively and tepidly against Paul, who patiently controlled the ring and landed just enough to win rounds. Chávez looked lifeless at the start, barely throwing a punch until late in the fourth round of their cruiserweight bout at Honda Center.
Chávez first mounted a discernible attack in the sixth, and he delivered several exciting shots in the ninth, finally exhibiting the skills of a long boxing career.
But he couldn’t seriously damage Paul, who jumped on the ropes in celebration after absorbing several flurries in the 10th and final round. The crowd booed Paul after the bell, and he cursed at them.
“All the boos are awards,” Paul said. “It was flawless. I think I only got hit about 10 times.”
Julio César Chávez Jr., right, punches Jake Paul during their cruiserweight boxing match on Saturday at the Honda Center.
(Etienne Laurent / Associated Press)
The judges scored it 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Paul. The Associated Press also favored Paul 97-93.
Chávez, who had fought just once since 2021, is best known for failing to maximize the potential in his father’s genetics. He is still the most credible boxer to share the ring with Paul, who is now 5 1/2 years and 13 bouts into his lucrative fight career.
“I thought I lost the first five rounds, so I tried to win the last rounds,” Chávez said. “He’s strong, a good boxer (for) the first three, four rounds. After that, I felt he was tired. I don’t think he’s ready for the champions, but he’s a good fighter.”
Paul has successfully leveraged his Internet ubiquity and his own hard work to become a force in the business of boxing, if not in traditionally important bouts. He has founded a busy promotional company and flirted with mixed martial arts while becoming arguably the most prominent combat sports athlete in the world.
But Paul had mostly fought mixed martial artists and fellow online celebrities, and he took his only loss in February 2023 when he stepped in against actual boxer Tommy Fury, whose fame also exceeds his ring skills.
“I don’t really care what people say at the end of the day, because every single time I just prove myself more and more,” Paul said. “And that’s slowly turning the tide.”
Paul hadn’t fought since last November, when he beat Mike Tyson in a much-hyped bout that couldn’t live up to improbable expectations from fans who didn’t understand the simple realities of Tyson being 58 years old.
Chávez was away from the ring for three years before his return late last year, but Paul’s invitation brought him back again — along with the thousands of fans who eagerly bought tickets in perpetual support of their champion.
Chávez has fallen to innumerable lows during a lengthy boxing career conducted in the shadow of his father, one of the most beloved athletes in Mexican history. The son has failed drug tests, served suspensions and egregiously missed weight while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport.
He still rose to its heights, winning the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defending it three times. Chávez shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both.
Chávez even lost in 2021 to Anderson Silva, the former UFC champion and rudimentary boxer who lost a one-sided ring decision to Paul one year later.
Jake Paul, left, punches Julio César Chávez Jr. during their cruiserweight boxing match on Saturday at the Honda Center.
(Etienne Laurent / Associated Press)
Paul’s career as the world’s most popular pugilistic sideshow could change soon: His financial potency makes it almost inevitable that he will be invited to fight under a sanctioning body’s aegis, which means he could likely book a bout against an elite boxer whenever he chooses.
“We’ll see,” Paul said when asked to name his next opponent. “There’s a long line, so they’ve got to wait in line. Take a ticket.”
Paul then said he would have no problem beating Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, who retained his two cruiserweight title belts with a close unanimous decision over Cuba’s Yuniel Dorticos in the final undercard bout.
Earlier, 43-year-old former UFC star Holly Holm returned from a 12-year absence from the boxing ring to dominate previously unbeaten Yolanda Guadalupe Vega Ochoa.
New Jersey welterweight Julian Rodriguez earned a thrilling victory in the waning moments of the 10th and final round, staggering Avious Griffin with a sneaky left hand and eventually knocking the previously unbeaten Griffin sideways into the ropes for a stoppage with 5 seconds left.
‘I want tougher fighters, I want to be world champion,’ Paul said in his challenge to former and current WBC champions.
Celebrity boxer Jake Paul has defeated former middleweight boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr by unanimous decision in a cruiserweight fight in California, United States.
The 28-year-old YouTube influencer-turned-boxer overcame his opponent with a judges’ score of 99-91, 97-93 and 98-92 in the 10-round fight at Honda Center in Anaheim on Saturday night.
The win marks Paul’s triumphant return to the ring seven months after his blockbuster fight against 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Chavez Jr, 39, is a former World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion who has not held a major boxing title in 13 years and has fought just once in the last three and a half years. He has also had some well-documented personal problems over the last few years.
Paul, who gained fame as a social media star on YouTube and became a boxer, now has a six-fight winning streak and a 12-1 record with seven knockouts (KOs).
Jake Paul celebrates at the end of the cruiserweight boxing bout against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr [Patrick T Fallon /AFP]
‘I want to be world champion’
Following the win, Paul challenged a number of current and former WBC champions to a fight.
“I want tougher fighters, I want to be world champion,” he told streaming service DAZN in the ring.
He called on Zurdo Ramirez, Badou Jack, Anthony Joshua, Gervonta Davis and Tommy Fury to “stop running”.
However, Chavez Jr said his conqueror was a “good fighter” but was not ready to face the list of champions he had named.
“He is strong, [he is a] good boxer [but] I don’t think he’s ready for champions,” the Mexican said.
Paul, who was set to face Canelo Alvarez until the latter signed a lucrative four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season, said Alvarez was “ducking” the fight.
In a video posted to his social media account, Paul showed what he said was a contract signed by himself and Alvarez for a fight to be held in Las Vegas on May 3.
“The truth is, you [ Alvarez ] could be bought,” Paul said at the time. “You’re a money-hungry squirrel chasing your next nut. The truth is, these sports-washing, shady characters are paying you hundreds of millions of dollars to stop our fight from happening because they couldn’t fathom the fact that they can’t create a bigger fight than me and you.”
Alvarez, a Mexican boxing superstar, unified boxing’s super-middleweight world titles after a pedestrian but unanimous points win over IBF champion William Scull in Riyadh on May 3 .
Paul celebrates his win [Patrick T Fallon/AFP]
Paul vs Chavez Jr: Contrasting fortunes
The 28-year-old is one of the sport’s top attractions despite not having a traditional fighting pedigree through a boxing association. Paul has made at least $60m since starting his boxing career, according to multiple sources.
His fight last November with Tyson, which Paul won in an eight-round decision, peaked at a staggering 64 million concurrent streams on Netflix.
Meanwhile, Chavez Jr – with a record of (54-7-1, 34 KOs) – last held a major boxing world title in 2012 and has had a difficult time inside and outside the ring in recent years.
In November 2021, his shock defeat by a split decision to 46-year-old former UFC fighter Anderson Silva in a crossover boxing match was undoubtedly the lowest – and most embarrassing – point of his professional boxing career. Coincidentally, Paul beat Silva in a fight last year.
The Mexican’s personal issues have included a lack of motivation, a repeated failure to make weight for fights, alcohol and drug addiction, an arrest for illegal possession of a firearm in his Los Angeles home and a failed drug test. At the launch of the Paul-Chavez fight in May at The Avalon in Hollywood, Paul mocked Chavez’s addiction problems as well as his “lack of mentality”.
Reports say that Paul has a chance of entering the WBC’s rankings with the win.
“The WBC ratings committee has been following Jake Paul’s career,” ESPN reported WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman as saying before the fight.
“If he defeats Chavez, and depending on how the fight plays out, the committee will make the decision. It’s very likely [Paul will be ranked] if he wins convincingly.”
Paul, right, punches Chavez Jr during their cruiserweight boxing match [Etienne Laurent/AP]
While Julio César Chávez Jr.’s name and lineage evoke history, discipline and glory, Jake Paul’s name is linked to a modern phenomenon that has challenged the traditional codes of boxing.
Paul’s arrival in the boxing spotlight was not by conventional means and although his bout with Chávez may appear to be a marketing spectacle, both fighters could benefit from a win.
At age 39 with 61 professional fights (54-6-1, 34 KOs), Chávez returns to the to the Honda Center in Anaheim Saturday to face Paul, offering pre-fight speeches that mix confidence, maturity and a sense of duty. Away from the show, the Mexican says he focused on serious and deep preparation.
“We are preparing to the fullest, thoroughly, to arrive better than ever physically, well-focused. We have to be 100% for the fight,” Chávez told L.A. Times en Español, making it clear that this is not just another adventure, but a fight that could open up more opportunities.
Jake Paul, left, and Julio César Chávez Jr. will face off at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Saturday.
(Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images)
The son of Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez Sr., he knows that many see him as the last stepping stone to catapult Paul into boxing legitimacy, but he doesn’t share that view.
“He’s not going to beat me. I’m a better boxer than him,” Julio César Chávez Jr. said.
The endorsement he received from Mexican boxing star Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez was interpreted as a vote of confidence in his ability.
“It’s important to listen to him,” Chávez said. “I think Canelo knows I’m the better boxer than Jake Paul. … We’re going to hit him hard.”
Paul said if he defeats Chávez, it will close the door on the Mexican fighter’s comeback after a stint in rehab.
“He’s going to retire,” Paul said.
He dismissed Álvarez’s endorsement of his opponent.
“It’s definitely a sign of respect from Canelo, but he showed me the utmost respect by turning down $100 million not to fight me,” Paul said, alluding to a potential fight against Álvarez that was being negotiated as recently as May before the Mexican star chose another opponent. “He knows it’s not an easy fight.”
With a dozen fights under his belt, Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) has been consistently criticized for facing weaker opponents, with the latest one raising strong suspicions that opponents accept limitations that favor Paul.
In November 2024, Paul faced aging legend Mike Tyson, whom he defeated by unanimous decision. Critics on social media immediately took issue with both fighters. There were moments it appeared Tyson could have finished Paul, but then seemed to back off and avoid throwing crucial punches.
Chávez made it clear that this fight is not part of a setup nor does it have an agreed script.
“I don’t lend myself to that kind of thing,” Chávez said. “The fight is normal and that’s all I can tell you.”
For the Mexican fighter, this bout represents something more than a purse or a chance to gain viral fame.
Jake Paul, left, and Julio César Chávez Jr. taunt each other following a weigh-in ahead of their cruiserweight boxing match Friday in Anaheim.
(Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)
“It’s like an activation,” he said. “There is the opportunity to fight for the world championship, even a rematch with Canelo.”
And while some have suggested that a Chávez loss would mean the end of his career, he dismisses that emphatically,
“It hasn’t crossed my mind, I’m not going to lose,” he said. “I’m thinking about winning and having a few fights after that.”
Paul, for his part, has made controversy a promotional tool, but he has also sought, in his words, to make it clear that his ambition is serious.
In response to rumors potential opponents canceled before the fight with Chávez was finalized, Paul explained that “a cowardly Mexican was afraid to fight me. … Another great boxer did not deliver. We talked to [influencer and boxer] KSI, Tommy Fury… That led us to Chávez and to keep on the path of facing real opponents, former world champions and remain active on my way to becoming world champion.”
Paul, as is his custom, did not miss the opportunity to psychologically attack his rival. This time, he pointed to the symbolic weight of the Chávez surname.
“It’s added pressure for Chávez Jr., he doesn’t handle pressure well,” Paul said. “… His dad wants this for his son, more than his son wants it. That can create a lot of problems and insecurities that I’m going to expose.”
Paul defends his history as a self-taught boxer who came to change the rules of the game.
“I never wanted the respect. It’s about proving myself, creating one of the best sports stories to inspire the next generation,” he said. “Without me, boxing would be dead.”
For Paul, the bout is another step in his attempt to silence the purists and reassert himself as more than a YouTube celebrity with gloves. For Chávez, it represents a chance to reclaim his lost place, to prove that his lineage is not just a family name but legitimate talent.
Boxers Jake Paul and Julio César Chávez Jr. attend a news conference at the Avalon Hollywood Theatre in Los Angeles on May 14.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
“I’m not worried, I’m preparing to win … I grabbed the fight because I’m going to win it,” Chávez insisted, downplaying any risks.
In the face of the doubts surrounding the showdowns, both fighters assured fans will see a real fight on Saturday.
“At the end of the day, above the ring, we are all the same,” Chávez said.
Paul is not worried about what people think of him.
“I don’t pay attention to what the boxing world says,” he said. “Naturally, this world loves to shoot themselves in the foot and wants to keep criticizing me, but what we’ve realized is that they obviously have no power, no control, no weight because I’m still involved in the biggest events.”
Seven months after his blockbuster fight against 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, YouTube celebrity boxer Jake Paul will return to the ring to face off against another former world champ, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Chavez Jr, 39, is a former World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion who hasn’t held a major boxing title in 13 years and has fought just once in the last three and a half years. He’s also had some well-documented personal problems over the last few years.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Paul-Chavez bout:
What is the date and start time for the Paul-Chavez fight?
The fight night is on Saturday, June 28, with six undercard bouts before the main fight.
The ring walk for Paul-Chavez Jr is set for 8pm Pacific Standard Time (PST) on Saturday (03:00 GMT on Sunday) and the fight will begin shortly thereafter.
Where is Paul-Chavez being held?
The Honda Center in Anaheim, California, is the venue for the fight.
It has a seating capacity of about 7,000 for boxing events.
Wasn’t Paul supposed to fight Canelo Alvarez?
In February, Paul claimed Canelo Alvarez “ducked” a fight with him to sign a lucrative four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season, based out of Saudi Arabia.
In a video posted to his social media account, Paul showed what he said was a contract signed by himself and Alvarez for a fight to be held in Las Vegas on May 3.
“The truth is, you (Alvarez) could be bought,” Paul said at the time. “You’re a money-hungry squirrel chasing your next nut. The truth is, these sports-washing, shady characters are paying you hundreds of millions of dollars to stop our fight from happening because they couldn’t fathom the fact that they can’t create a bigger fight than me and you.”
Canelo Alvarez celebrates after defeating Edgar Berlanga in a super middleweight title bout on September 14, 2024, in Las Vegas, US [John Locher/AP]
What problems has Chavez Jr had since becoming WBC world champion?
Chavez Jr, who last held a major boxing world title in 2012, has had a difficult time inside and outside the ring in recent years.
In November 2021, his shock defeat by split decision to 46-year-old former UFC fighter Anderson Silva in a crossover boxing match was undoubtedly the lowest – and most embarrassing – point of his professional boxing career. Coincidentally, Paul beat Silva in a fight last year.
The Mexican’s personal issues have included a lack of motivation, a repeated failure to make weight for fights, alcohol and drug addiction, an arrest for illegal possession of a firearm in his Los Angeles home and a failed drug test. At the launch of the Paul-Chavez fight in May at The Avalon in Hollywood, Paul mocked Chavez’s addiction problems as well as his “lack of mentality.”
“I’m going to embarrass him and run him down like he always does,” Paul said. “I’m going to expose him. He will be the embarrassment of Mexico. There are two things you can’t beat – me and your drug addiction.”
Who is Jake Paul?
Paul gained fame as a social media star on YouTube who turned into a boxer, and has an 11-1 record.
The 28-year-old is one of the sport’s top attractions despite not having a traditional fighting pedigree through a boxing association.
His fight last November with Tyson, which Paul won in an eight-round decision, peaked at a staggering 64 million concurrent streams on Netflix.
Jake Paul has made at least $60m since starting his boxing career, according to multiple sources.
Jake Paul, left, fights Mike Tyson during their heavyweight boxing match on November 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas, US [Julio Cortez/AP]
Who is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr?
The son of Julio Cesar Chavez, a legendary three-division world champion, Chavez Jr has amassed a professional boxing record of 53 wins (34 KOs), six losses, and one draw over a 17-year career.
Chavez was crowned the WBC middleweight champion in 2011 after defeating Sebastian Zbik of Germany. He defended the title three times and was considered to be in the upper tier of middleweight boxers alongside fellow Mexican, Canelo Alvarez.
But a series of disappointing results, beginning with a loss to Sergio Martinez in 2012 through to a one-sided defeat to Alvarez in 2017, sent his career off the rails.
Chavez’s professional record is a mediocre 8-6 since 2012. Despite his many personal issues, Chavez Jr is still considered to be armed with an advanced boxing skillset that will be a step up in competition for the novice fighter Paul.
Chavez Jr, left, unleashes a ferocious left jab en route to winning the WBC Middleweight Championship against Sebastian Zbik on June 4, 2011 [Mark J Terrill/AP]
What has Paul said about the fight?
“I would say Chavez is most likely going to be the toughest opponent (I have faced yet), the most experienced, literally the most amount of fights out of all of my opponents,” Paul said during an interview with DAZN Boxing.
What has Chavez Jr said about the fight?
“Yes [I’m motivated to end Paul’s career],” Chavez Jr said on The Ariel Helwani podcast on June 18. “[I still think] that I’m better than Jake Paul, so I think after this fight maybe Jake continues to fight [and tries] to be a [better] boxer, but I don’t think he has [the] skills and everything [necessary to] win [against me]. I want to end Jake Paul’s career.”
Paul stats:
Nationality: American Age: 28 Height: 6′ 1″ (1.85m) Reach: 76″ (1.93m) Total fights: 12 Record: 11-1 (7 KOs)
Raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement have sparked fear, protests and the cancellation of several public events throughout the Los Angeles area. Amid the tense climate, more than 100 people recently gathered at the Maywood Boxing Club to watch Julio César Chávez Jr. train as he prepares to face Jake Paul on June 28 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Chávez, visibly surprised by the turnout, confessed that he did not expect to see so many people given the circumstances.
“I thought there wouldn’t be people here, because of everything happening, but I’m glad they made the time to come,” the Mexican boxing star told L.A. Times en Español moments before beginning his training session.
While they were drawn to the chance to watch a boxing star train, the event also united a community and showed its resilience in the face of adversity.
Boxers Jake Paul, left, gestures toward Julio César Chávez Jr. during a boxing news conference at the Avalon Hollywood Theatre in L.A. on May 14. Nakisa Bidarian, CEO and co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, center left, and Oscar De La Hoya, of Golden Boy Promotions, center right, look on.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
The last few weeks have been particularly difficult in Los Angeles. Testimonials and videos on social media have documented arrests of immigrants in the middle of public streets, generating a generalized state of fear. Chávez, who has lived in the city for more than a decade, reflected on the impact of the raids.
“It even scared me, to tell you the truth, it is very ugly,” he said. “I don’t understand the situation, why so much violence. There are many good people and you are setting an example of violence to the community.”
Chávez said his concerns about the raids have little to do with political debates over immigration policy. He is more focused on the treatment of people being detained by federal agents wearing masks who don’t identify themselves and target workers who appear to be immigrants.
“Seeing children left alone because their parents are grabbed. … That is common sense, we are people and we are going to feel bad when we see that situation,” he said.
Although he acknowledges immigration crackdowns could affect ticket sales for his fight against Paul, Chávez was confident that the fight will go off without a hitch.
“I don’t think the fight will be affected, maybe the tickets, although you can watch it on pay-per-view at home, because in the end there will be a fight,” he said. “The support for me is going to be there and if they don’t go, I know they will go another way. People want me to beat Jake Paul with my heart and I want to give a fight like I haven’t given in a long time.”
Sean Gibbons, president of Knucklehead Boxing and MP Promotions, was more direct. For him, the June 28 fight is safe.
“I don’t think there will be any changes. The fight will happen at the Honda Center in Anaheim, and everything that happens is happening in Los Angeles,” he said. “If we had done the fight at Crypto.com Arena, it could have been a problem, but I think the people sent a strong message by being here [at the training session], despite everything that’s going on. Hopefully things will calm down long before the 28th.”
Gibbons also stressed that the attendance at the training is proof that fans are willing to come out and support Chávez, even in uncertain times.
Among those attending the event was 38-year-old Maywood resident Olaf Luevano. For him, being at the gym was not only a show of support for the boxer, but also an act of unity.
“This was a good way to come out and support the people, to show everyone that we are together. He is someone from our community and he will come out and fight, representing our people,” said Luevano, who added that although he has legal documents, discrimination and fear affect everyone equally. “Just because of the color of our skin and how we look, it affects us too.”
Miguel Castañeda, originally from Sinaloa, Mexico, lives in Lynwood and came to witness the open-door training. Castañeda shared the same nervous feeling, but also the need to resist.
“Dismayed everyone, even the celebrities are worried,” said Castañeda, 39. “One thinks about it, but you have to go out and live. You don’t have to live in fear. Not to be locked up, no, we all have to go out. … We have to be encouraged.”
Castañeda was also surprised by the size of the crowd at the gym he has visited in the past.
“I’ve never seen so many fans in this gym. It’s good to see this, that people come out to support,” he said.
Two miles away, Chávez’s legendary father opened the doors of the now defunct Azteca Boxing in Bell to connect with fans before some of his historic bouts.
Julio César Chávez Jr. said working out in front of a big group of fans not only motivates him, but also connects him with his roots.
“It’s impressive, the people there. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many people together and even more so in these difficult times,” he said. “It’s a motivation to keep working hard. Also, coming to these kind of gyms, people remember the times of before and I am very grateful.”
Chávez said he takes issue not only with the raids, but the way political speeches — especially those by President Trump — have attacked immigrants.
“I’m from Sinaloa, where you see things over there so ugly and to come here, to such a beautiful country, and see Trump attacking immigrants, Latinos, without a purpose,” Chávez said. “… You have to get closer to God and I think Trump made a bad decision.”
Chávez said he understands the fear many in the community feel as a result of the recent immigration crackdown, but it was encouraging to see people gather at his gym.
“One of my trainers didn’t want to come because of the fear of ICE,” he said. “… I just ask them to take care of themselves, to stay away from danger. We know … there is a very big conflict and we’re hoping that nothing bad happens.”
One of Jake Paul’s nicknames is the “Problem Child,” but that nickname could just as easily fit Julio César Chávez Jr.
After becoming World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion of the world in 2011, Chávez defended his crown three times and came to be considered on the same level as his contemporary Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez. But a disappointing loss to Sergio Martínez in 2012, lack of discipline needed to train properly and make weight, as well as a crushing defeat to Álvarez in 2017, sent his career into a free fall.
From 2019-21, he picked up three losses in four fights, including falling to former champion Daniel Jacobs and mixed martial arts veteran Anderson Silva.
Now at 39, Chávez will face Youtuber turned boxer Jake Paul in a cruiserweight contest scheduled for June 28 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Chávez (54-6-1, 34 KOs) has fought 61 professional bouts since his debut in 2003 and could be the toughest test of Paul’s (11-1, 7 KOs) career to date, although it all depends on the level of the Mexican’s fitness for the matchup.
Boxers Jake Paul, left, and Julio César Chávez Jr. point at each other during a news conference while promoter Oscar De La Hoya watches at the Avalon Hollywood Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Paul and Chávez will fight in June in Anaheim.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
During a press event held at The Avalon in Hollywood on Wednesday, Paul strongly criticized Chávez while mentioning the addiction problems Chávez has faced as well as his “lack of mentality.”
“I’m going to embarrass him and run him down like he always does,” Paul said. “I’m going to expose him. He will be the embarrassment of Mexico. There are two things you can’t beat — me and your drug addiction.”
Outside the ring, Chávez’s personal life has not been free of problems. The Culiacan native was arrested in January of last year in Los Angeles and charged with illegal possession of weapons, specifically an assault rifle, which was found in his home. He eventually pleaded not guilty and committed to entering a rehabilitation program.
On Wednesday, the legendary Julio César Chávez Sr. stood by his son’s side to support him in the face of Paul’s verbal attacks. For Chávez Sr., if his son continues to train the way he has seen him lately, the American doesn’t stand a chance. Chávez Jr. will be looking to be the second opponent to beat Paul after Tommy Fury scored a win in 2023.
“He’s an overrated fighter. He hasn’t fought anybody. He only fights old guys,” said Chávez Jr., who added he will arrive in Anaheim as the best version of himself and that the first five rounds will be difficult, but that he will tip the scales in his favor from the seventh round on.
Chávez Sr., as on many occasions, has mentioned that his son is training like never before.
“There is no way Jake Paul can beat my son, the way he is training,” Chávez Sr. said.
Paul responded he could beat Chávez Jr. and his legendary father, criticizing Chávez Jr.’s lack of discipline.
Boxer Jake Paul insulted Julio César Chávez Jr. during a news conference at the Avalon Hollywood Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
“It’s not a champion’s mentality to only train hard when you have a big fight. I train hard every time I have a fight, no matter who I’m facing. That teaches you the type of person he is,” Paul said.
After the news conference, Chávez Jr. noted that he expected Paul to pick on his dad, but understood it was a mental tactic by his opponent.
“In boxing you learn step by step, and he is missing several,” Chávez Jr. said.
Paul, a 28-year-old from Cleveland, will return to the ring since he last fought in November, when he outpointed heavyweight legend Mike Tyson in an eight-round bout in Arlington, Texas. The event disappointed many due to a lack of competitiveness from 58-year-old “Iron Mike.”
During this fight, Paul will likely have much of the crowd against him by choosing to fight a Mexican star in Southern California, although he believes there are many who will support him.
“Mexicans love me. People love me more than they love him. Mexico doesn’t even love him. I’m going to show him who the real Mexican warrior is,” Paul said.
Boxers Julio César Chávez Jr., left, and his father, Julio César Chávez Sr., sit beside each other during a news conference Wednesday.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
The showdown between Paul and Chávez Jr. comes after a proposed showdown between the Youtuber and Álvarez fell apart earlier this year.
Paul could be close to a fight against Álvarez, although before that he could consider a matchup against Mexico’s Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramírez, who will be defending his cruiserweight crown against Cuban Yuniel Dorticos (27-2, 25 KOs) on the Anaheim card.
“He has done a good job. Maybe someday we can fight for titles. Now I’m the champion,” Ramírez, 33, said about facing Paul.
Ramírez (47-1, 30 KOs) said he would prefer to unify the Boxing Assn. title against Jai Opetaia, the International Boxing Federation champion. But before that, he will have to dispatch Dorticos, who is known for his powerful punch.
“Los Angeles is going to shake. The knockout doctor is back,” said Dorticos, 39.
The card is promoted by Most Valuable Promotions in conjunction with Golden Boy Promotions, and will air on pay-per-view via DAZN.
