MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr could be released from a jail in northern Mexico in coming days as he awaits trial for alleged cartel ties following his deportation from the United States, his lawyer told local media this weekend.
Attorney Ruben Fernando Benitez said a judge in the northern city of Hermosillo in Sonora state ruled on Saturday that the 39-year-old former champion could be processed for release, after his arrest last week.
Benitez also said prosecutors lacked proof to back the charges.
“There is no evidence,” Benitez told local media late on Saturday, following the decision from Judge Enrique Hernandez Miranda in a courtroom in Hermosillo.
Chavez Jr., the 39-year-old son of a legendary former world champion boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, was detained by U.S. immigration authorities in July shortly after losing in a sold-out match to American influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
Mexican prosecutors allege he acted as a henchman for the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, which Washington designated a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year.
Chavez Jr.’s lawyer and family have denied the accusations.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum previously said she expected Chavez Jr. to face charges for arms trafficking and organized crime, and that prosecutors were working on the case.
(Reporting by Laura Gottesdiener and Noe Torres, editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Sandra Maler)
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