Days After Jake Paul Bout, Boxer Is Arrested by ICE

Julio César Chávez Jr., a Mexican boxer who fought a high-profile match against Jake Paul last weekend, has been arrested in California by ICE agents and faces expedited deportation, federal officials said. The Department of Homeland Security said Chávez has been living in the US unlawfully and is a threat to public safety, the Guardian reports. A large number of agents took the boxer, 39, into custody Wednesday while he was riding a scooter in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Studio City, his attorney said. "The current allegations are outrageous and simply another headline to terrorize the community," said Michael Goldstein, per the AP.

Chávez, who has struggled with substance abuse for much of his career, is the son of Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez. Two weeks before his bout with Paul in Anaheim, the boxer held a public workout in Southern California, where he told the Los Angeles Times that one of his trainers stayed away because he feared immigration agents. "I was even scared, to tell you the truth. It's very ugly," Chávez said, adding that he wouldn't want to be deported. DHS officials decided on June 27, the day before the fight, that Chávez should be arrested. They didn't say why they waited to arrest him.

Among the allegations are that the boxer overstayed his visa and lied on a green card application. In Mexico, an active arrest warrant awaits him on weapons trafficking and organized crime charges, per the Guardian. US officials accuse him of being affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel, which is blamed for much of the drug violence in Mexico. Goldstein said he doesn't know where his client is being held.