:''This is about a Mexican boxer. For the Venezuelan boxer with this name, see

Francisco Rodríguez (boxer, born 1945) Francisco Antonio Rodríguez Brito (20 September 1945 – 23 April 2024) was a Venezuelan boxer. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City he won the gold medal in the inaugural men's light flyweight (– 48 kg) division, in additio ...

'' Francisco "Paco" Rodríguez (June 15, 1984 – November 22, 2009) was a Mexican professional

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 ...

in the

Super Bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanct ...

division.

Amateur career

Francisco's amateur

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

career included five wins at the regional

Chicago Golden Gloves The Chicago Golden Gloves is an amateur boxing tournament, considered by many boxing aficionados as one of the three most elite Golden Gloves titles, along with the Intercity Golden Gloves and the New York Golden Gloves. The tournament is also mor ...

and a win at the 2001 National Golden Gloves Championships.

Professional career

Rodríguez became a professional boxer in January 2005. Known as "El Nino Azteca", Rodríguez was a fan favourite, especially in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

area.

Death

Rodríguez died at the age of 25 after losing a bout against undefeated prospect Teon Kennedy. After the match referee stopped the fight in the 10th round, Rodríguez immediately collapsed, losing consciousness while waiting for an official decision. He was rushed to a hospital for emergency brain surgery and died 2 days later. Rodriguez was 14–2 going into the bout against Kennedy for the vacant USBA

title.

Legacy

After Paco's death, his family were asked by the Gift of Life donor program to donate his organs, including both kidneys, pancreas, lungs, and his heart. Paco was featured on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

program E:60, where his brother Alex said, "I would think he'd be disappointed to see all the hard work he did to keep his body in the shape that he kept it, his heart, to let it stop beating. I think, we should give someone else a chance." The donations saved several lives including that of Paco's uncle Ramon and Victoria Davis. Other recipients included Ashley Owens, Alexis Sloan, and Meagan Kingsley. They had the opportunity to meet Paco's family. Paco's wife Sonia told them, "it's a shame that he's not here, but what happened didn't happen in vain. You guys...it was meant to happen, for you guys to receive this gift. So, you know, enjoy it to the fullest just like he did when he had it all."

References

External links

*
Gift of Life Donor Program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Francisco 1984 births 2009 deaths Boxers from Guadalajara, Jalisco Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing National Golden Gloves champions Boxers from Chicago Sports deaths in Pennsylvania Super-bantamweight boxers American male boxers