Francisco Rodríguez (of Venezuela)
Name: Francisco Rodriguez
Alias: Morochito
Birth Name: Francisco Antonio Rodríguez Brito
Hometown: Cumana, Venezuela
Birthplace: Cumana, Venezuela
Died: 2024-04-23 (Age:78)
Amateur Boxer: Record
Born September 20, 1945 at Cumana, Venezuela
Francisco Antonio Brito Rodriquez was born in Cumaná on September 20, 1945. Francisco spent his teen years working with his mother selling fish in Cumaná. When Francisco was 19, one of his friends invited him to a local gym run by "the machine that makes champions" Professor Ely Montes. At that time, Montes was training future world champions Antonio Gomez and Alfredo Marcano, along with other good fighters such as Jose Luis Vallejo and Alfredo Acosta. These were the golden days of Venezuelan boxing.
Montes quickly saw that in Morochito he had a boxer of extraordinary promise. Montes described the tiny flyweight s a "natural for combat," who quicky absorbed the theory of boxing.
That same year, 1964, the Venezuelan National Championships were held in Cumaná. Morochito tore through the early fights then was matched in the finals with another future world champion "Lumumba" Estaba. That bout never took place. Prof. Montes pulled his entire team from the competition in protest of a bad decision rendered against Alfredo Marcano. As a result, the entire team was suspended. Morochito was out of action for a little more than two years.
Francisco was reinstated by the Venezuelan Boxing Federation in time for him to compete in the eliminations for the 1967 Pan Am Games held in Winnipeg, Canada. The Venezuelan flyweight represented his country at the games and he walked off with the gold medal, beating Mexican Ricardo Delgado. Delgado was no slouch -- he went on to win a gold nmedal at flyweight at the 1968 Olympics.
Morochito followed this victory with a gold medal at the Latin American Championships, held that year in Chile. He was ready for Mexico City. Morochito, who had been competing at flyweight, dropped down to light flyweight (48 kilos), as Venezuela needed an entrant in that new weight class.
Even 30 years ago, amateur boxing was dominated by cubans. In his first bout, Morochito drew medal favorite Rafael Carbonell in his first fight an beat him clearly on a 5-0 decision. After a 2-round kayp of Hatha Karunaratne (Ceylon), Morochito faced U.S. amateur star Harlan Marbrey, beating him 4-1.
On Saturday, October 26, 1968, the Venezuelan faced Korean Yong-Ju Jee for the gold medal. It was then that Francisco first faced a boxer's nemisis: nerves.
"When it was just about time to fight, " recalled Francisco, " I was very nervous. I began to feel cold. Then they knocked on the door calling for the Venezuelan. That ended my fright."
The gold medal bout was quick, tough, tense, and close. In the third round, Morochito broke the thumb on his right hand, yet continued to punch. At the end, the Venezuelan triumphed by a score of 3-2. The news electrified the nation and Morochito became a national hero.
Francisco fielded many offers to turn pro and eventually signed a pro contract. Although his desire to fight was waning, he wanted to support his mother and family. Shortly after he signed his contract, he took his mother to see Alfredo Marcano fight. During the fight, Marcano was cut badly and his bloodied mouthpiece was knocked into Francisco's mother's lap. After the fight she begged himm to give up fighting, and he obtained a cancellation of his contract without ever turning pro.
Morochito did not fight internationally in1969 and by the time the 1972 Olympics rolled around the fire was out. He made the Olympic team but was kayoed in his first fight of the games. His career was over -- an amazing 266 wins and 4 losses in 270 fights.
In 1988, Morochito was elected to the Venezuelan Sports Hall of Fame. He became a well-respected multi-sport trainer at the National Institute of Sport where he worked for over 25 years.
In Venezuela, the accolades have never stopped and Morochito has never given cause for the respect of his countrymen to waver. His amateur record stood at 266 wins, 4 losses.
Inducted into the Venezuelan Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Olympic results
1968
- 1st round bye
- Defeated Rafael Carbonell (Cuba) 5-0
- Defeated Khata Karunatarne (Ceylon) TKO 2
- Defeated Harlan Marbley (United States) 4-1
- Defeated Jee Yong-Ju (South Korea) 3-2
1972
- Lost to Dennis Talbot (Australia) KO 2