Del Flanagan was a middleweight

Middleweight

Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...

 professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 from Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

.

Personal life

Flanagan was a native of St Paul, Minnesota. Del Flanagan and his brother Glen were known as the Fighting Flanagan Brothers. Both brothers have been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame

World Boxing Hall of Fame

The World Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Riverside, California, United States, in Southern California. The WBHF is one of two recognized international boxing halls of fame with the other being the International Boxing Hall of Fame , with the IBHOF being the more widely recognized...

, joining the Gibbons brothers, Mike and Tommy, also from Saint Paul.

Professional Boxing Career

Flanagan began his career with 40 straight wins before drawing with Johnny DeFazio in March 1950. He remained undefeated until his 53rd fight, a loss to Tommy Campbell in June 1951. By the end of his career Flanagan had amassed an impressive record of 105 wins (38 by knockout) and 22 losses, with 2 draws. Before it was over he had fought such big names as Tim Dalton

Tim Dalton

Tim Dalton is a former Irish footballer.During his career he played for Coventry City, Bournemouth, Notts County and later moved to Boston United, Bradford City, Tranmere Rovers, Cork City and Derry City FC of the League of Ireland, where he won an Irish domestic treble in 1989, Airdrie United and...

, Johnny DeFazio, Sandy Saddler

Sandy Saddler

Joseph "Sandy" Saddler was an American boxer born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a two-time featherweight world champion, and also held the junior lightweight crown. Over his twelve-year career , Saddler scored 103 knockouts. He was stopped only once, in his second pro fight, by Jock Leslie. ...

, Jackie Graves

Jackie Graves

Jackie Graves, alias The Austin Atom, was a featherweight boxer from Minnesota.-Boxing career:From 1944 to 1956 Graves compiled a career record of 82 wins and 11 losses with 2 draws...

, Beau Jack

Beau Jack

Sidney Walker, better known as Beau Jack, , was an American lightweight boxer, he was a world champion twice...

, Tommy Campbell, Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

, Arthur King, Willie Pastrano

Willie Pastrano

Wilfred Raleigh Pastrano was a light heavyweight boxer who held the world crown from 1963 until 1965.-Early life:...

, Johnny Saxton

Johnny Saxton

Johnny Saxton was an American professional boxer in the welterweight division. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, learned to box in a Brooklyn orphanage and had an amateur career winning 31 of 33 fights, twice becoming World Welterweight Champion.- Professional career :Saxton turned professional...

, Gene Fullmer

Gene Fullmer

Gene Fullmer is a former American middleweight boxer and world champion.-Professional career:Fullmer began his professional career in 1951 and won his first 29 fights, 19 by knockout...

, Kid Gavilan

Kid Gavilan

Gerardo González , better known in the boxing world as Kid Gavilan, was a former world welterweight champion from Cuba...

, Joey Giardello

Joey Giardello

Carmine Orlando Tilelli was an American boxer who was the middleweight champion of the world from 1963 to 1965, and was better known by his professional pseudonym of Joey Giardello.-Early life:...

, and Duane Horsman

Duane Horsman

Duane D. Horsman , was a middleweight professional boxer from Minnesota.-Personal life:Horsman was a native of Chatfield, Minnesota. He was survived by his wife Doris, whom he had married in 1958...

. His highest ranking was #2 during the 1950s, but he never got a title shot.