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 bet ...

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 San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ...

. There street fighting was a common way of life and many of the youth at that time saw the sport of

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

as a way to a better life. Among them was Venegas, who admired Puerto Rico's first international boxing champion,

Sixto Escobar Sixto Escobar (March 23, 1913 – November 17, 1979) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. Competing in the bantamweight division, he became Puerto Rico's first world champion. Escobar was born in Barceloneta and raised in San Juan. There he ...

. Venegas took up boxing and his performance in the ring soon caught the attention of the island's recently established

Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

. 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 ...

celebrated in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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

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's representative, Louis Callenboat, on points for a unanimous decision. He won the bronze medal in boxing in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

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 The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV O ...

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, fought in the

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

and

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, th ...

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