Francisco Antonio Rodríguez Brito (born September 20, 1945) is a retired

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. At the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico City he won the gold medal in the inaugural men's

light flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920 ...

(– 48 kg) division, after having claimed the gold as well at the

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and

1971 Pan American Games * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Jan ...

. He carried the flag for his native country at the opening ceremony at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, West Germany.

Amateur career

Rodriguez, nicknamed "Morochito", was Venezuela's first Olympic gold medalist, winning gold in the light flyweight division in its inaugural year of competition, 1968. His amateur record stood at 266 wins, 4 losses. After the Olympics, Rodríguez signed a professional contract. Before fighting he took his mother to a pro bout. At one point, one of the boxers' bloody mouthpieces landed in Rodriguez's mother's lap. She begged Rodriguez to give up fighting and he cancelled his contract.

Olympic results

Mexico City - 1968 * Round of 32: bye * Round of 16: Defeated

Rafael Carbonell Rafael Carbonell Carrion (born November 25, 1943, in Oriente, Ciudad de la Habana) is a retired boxer from Cuba, who represented his native country in three consecutive Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympi ...

(Cuba) on points, 5-0 * Quarterfinal: Defeated

Hatha Karunaratne Hatha Kapuralalage Karunaratne (21 October 1941 – August 1983) was a Sri Lankan boxer. He competed in the men's light flyweight event at the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), off ...

(Ceylon) by a second-round TKO * Semifinal: Defeated

Harlan Marbley Harlan Joseph Marbley (October 11, 1943 in White Oak, Maryland – May 13, 2008) was a flyweight boxer from the United States who represented his native country at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. There he won the bronze me ...

(United States) on points, 4-1 * Final: Defeated

Jee Yong-Ju Jee Yong-Ju (Hangul: 지용주, Hanja: 地龍珠) (December 19, 1948 – August 25, 1985) was an amateur boxer from South Korea. He was born in Wonju, Gangwon-do, South Korea. He competed for South Korea in the 1968 Summer Olympics ...

(South Korea) on points, 3-2 (won gold medal) Munich - 1972 *Lost to

Dennis Talbot Dennis Alan Talbot (born 18 April 1954) is an Australian former boxing, boxer. His boxing career started from Mudgee in June 1969 and went on for a period of 15 years. He retired in April 1984 after successfully defending his lightweight tit ...

(Australia) KO 2

Honors

He was inducted into the Venezuelan Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.

References

* 1945 births Living people People from Cumaná Boxers at the 1967 Pan American Games Boxers at the 1971 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for Venezuela Boxers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of Venezuela Olympic gold medalists for Venezuela Olympic medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Venezuelan male boxers Pan American Games medalists in boxing Flyweight boxers Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games {{Venezuela-Olympic-medalist-stub