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Former boxing star Julio César Chávez defended his son on Monday following his arrest by U.S. immigration officials outside of his home in Los Angeles last week.
Julio César Chávez Jr. was accused of overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application. Additionally, he has an active warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged arms and drug trafficking and possible ties to the Sinaloa cartel.
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Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. poses with his belt along with his father Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., right, after defeating Sebastian Zbik in their WBC World Middleweight title match, in Los Angeles, June 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
The elder Chávez spoke to Mexican media about his son.
“It’s complicated, there’s a lot of talk, but we’re calm because we know my son’s innocence,” he 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.”
An investigation into the younger boxer started in 2019 after a complaint filed by the U.S. against the Sinaloa cartel for organized crime, human trafficking, arms trafficking and drug trafficking, Mexico Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said on Sunday.
MEXICO PRESIDENT EXPECTS BOXER JULIO CÉSAR CHÁVEZ JR. TO BE DEPORTED, HOPES HE SERVES SENTENCE IN HOME COUNTRY
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. talks with his father, legendary boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, at a news conference to promote his middleweight championship match with Sergio Martinez, of Argentina, in Los Angeles, July 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
Chávez Jr.’s lawyers requested at least five injunctions in Mexico but they were all rejected because the boxer was in the U.S., Gertz Manero said.
“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,” Chávez Sr. said. “In my time I met everybody, and they did not come after me.”
He vowed that his son will fight the chargers if he his transferred to Mexico.
Chávez Jr. was arrested days after he lost to Jake Paul in a boxing match.
Jake Paul moves in for a hit against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at Honda Center. (Vasquez-Imagn Images)
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“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,” the elder Chávez added. “Yes, he knows those people, but that doesn’t mean I’m a drug trafficker. Let’s trust the law.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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