Juan Evangelista Venegas (December 27, 1928 – April 16, 1987) was a Puerto Rican boxer notable for winning Puerto Rico's first

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medal.

Early years

Venegas (birth name: Juan Evangelista Venegas Trinidad) was born in an underprivileged section of the town of Río Piedras. Río Piedras at the time was not incorporated into the City of San Juan, Puerto Rico. There street fighting was a common way of life and many of the youth at that time saw the sport of boxing as a way to a better life. Among them was Venegas, who admired Puerto Rico's first international boxing champion, Sixto Escobar. Venegas took up boxing and his performance in the ring soon caught the attention of the island's recently established Olympic Committee. In 1948 the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee included him in the delegation which would represent the island.

1948 Summer Olympics

The

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

celebrated in London, was a historical one for Puerto Rico because it was the first time that the island would participate as a nation in an international sporting event. The island's delegation consisted of twelve members. In their opening ceremonies, the Puerto Rican delegation carried the flag of the United States into the Olympic stadium. The United States protested, claiming that two nations could not use the same flag at the same time. The decree of

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

on July 25, 1952, would give the Puerto Rican delegation a flag of their own. In the 1948 Summer Olympics, known as the XIV Olympics, Juan Evangelista Venegas made Puerto Rican sports history by winning Puerto Rico's first Olympic medal ever when he beat Belgium's representative, Louis Callenboat, on points for a unanimous decision. He won the bronze medal in boxing in the Bantamweight division, falling short of the silver medal to

Giovanni Zuddas Giovanni Battista Zuddas (1 March 1928 in Cagliari – 21 October 1996) was a bantamweight professional boxer from Italy, who won the silver medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics, losing to Tibor Csik of Hungary in the championship match. 1948 ...

1948 Olympic results

Below are the results of Juan Evangelista Venegas who competed as a bantamweight boxer for Puerto Rico at the 1948 London Olympics: * Round of 32: defeated Louis Calebout (Belgium) on points * Round of 16: defeated Babu Lall (India) on points * Quarterfinal: defeated Albert Perera (Ceylon) on points * Semifinal: lost to

Tibor Csik Tibor is a masculine given name found throughout Europe. There are several explanations for the origin of the name: * from Latin name Tiberius, which means "from Tiber", Tiber being a river in Rome. * in old Slavic languages, Tibor means "sacred pl ...

(Hungary) on points * Bronze-Medal bout: defeated Alvaro Vicente (Spain) on points (won bronze medal)

Professional boxing career

After returning to a hero's welcome to Puerto Rico, Venegas turned professional. In 1948, Venegas made his professional boxing debut against Puerto Rican Abelardo Alejandro. Venegas, a

southpaw Southpaw is another name for a left-handed individual, particularly in sports. Southpaw may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''The Southpaw'', a 1952 novel by Mark Harris * Southpaw (comics), a fictional character in the Marvel comic ''Sh ...

, fought in the bantamweight and featherweight division for a total of 32 fights, compiling a record of 20-10-2. His last fight was in 1958 against Al Tisi.

Death and legacy

On April 16, 1987, Juan Evangelista Venegas died when he suffered a fall at his home which caused a skull fracture. A week before his death, he was honored by the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico. In honor of his memory, the Puerto Rican Boxing Commission sponsors the Juan Evangelista Venegas boxing tournament, which serves as a tune-up to future Olympic boxing prospects. There is a Juan Evangelista Venegas Olympic Cup which is given in other sports with Olympic orientation.''Puerto Rico brilla ante EEUU y Guatemala.''
La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 30. Issue 1487. Page 4. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.

Notes

References

External links

History of Puerto Rico
*

Certificate of Death: Juan Evangelista Venegas Trinidad.
Filed 17 April 1987. Puerto Rico, Dept. of Health, Div. of Vital Statistics, Reg. Dist. No. 152, File No. 0274 (326). Informant: Mrs.

Nayda Venegas Nayda Venegas Brown (born July 24, 1958) is a Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party (PNP). She was a member of the Puerto Rico Senate, from 2017 to 2021, representing Carolina Senatorial district. Early years and ...

aughter of deceased Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico. {{DEFAULTSORT:Venegas, Juan Evangelista 1929 births 1987 deaths Olympic boxers of Puerto Rico Boxers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Puerto Rico People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Bantamweight boxers Olympic medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Puerto Rican male boxers