Francisco “Morochito” Rodríguez: Distinguished figure of Venezuelan boxing (+Christmas)

Francisco “Morochito” Rodríguez was born in Cumaná on September 20, 1945. He was an athlete well remembered for winning the first Olympic gold medal for Venezuela.

The boxer “Morochito” Rodríguez achieved the feat on October 26, in the flyweight category of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico, after defeating South Korean Yong-Ju Jee.

His international participations also stand out: the V Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada in 1967 and the Pan American Games in Cali, Colombia, in 1971, where he won the gold medal in both jousts, Yvke Mundial reported.

Rodríguez participated in seven world competitions, in which he was champion by knockout. After his retirement from the ring, he dedicated himself to training young people in El Paraíso, in Caracas, where he formed the “Morochito” Rodríguez Boxing Club.

Francisco received the nickname Morochito, because he had a twin sister named Alida. He took his first steps in the world of boxing at the age of 11 in his native Sucre, becoming years later one of the most important Olympic glories in the country.

He died on April 23, 2024 after a serious state of health due to anemia.