Some of the overlooked fighters I’ve come across during my recent studies...

Expanding on an earlier post:

Del Flanagan- Another fighter I’m surprised hasn’t had an Internet resurgence. The boxing lesson he gave Sandy Saddler was made available to watch online years ago, but for whatever reason never gained much traction.

That’s a shame, because he might well be the most underrated fighter from the entire 50s decade, with an unreal wins resume to boot.

Probably the main reason for Flanagan’s limited notoriety was inconsistency. His lack of a truly solid run as top contender is why he never received a title shot despite the great names on his ledger. As such, he never really got out from under the shadow of the other top Welters and Middles of the day. Never mind that he beat several of them.

Flanagan had two careers, essentially. Starting off as a Lightweight, he became a Golden Boy of sorts by going undefeated in his first 52 fights. One of the longest such streaks in boxing history. He picked up some excellent wins along the way that proved his class, but for the most part faced fairly middling competition, as you’d expect from a rising contender. Then he got a reality check.

A 10 fight gauntlet that finished with Flanagan sporting a measly 3-6-1 record against the toughest opposition he’d faced to that point in his life. Within a year he had gone from Golden Boy to fringe contender. History is pretty consistent on the direction his career should’ve gone after that. Instead, he used it as a rebirth.

He moved up in weight and turned the second phase of his career into one big gauntlet, facing a who’s who in the most deeply talented weight range of the era.

From his historic start as a Lightweight to his retirement at Middleweight, Flanagan beat the following men:

Carlos Chavez
Sandy Saddler
Jackie Graves
Beau Jack
Lester Felton
Ralph Dupas
Johnny Bratton
Johnny Saxton
Kid Gavilan
Gil Turner
Virgil Akins
Ramon Fuentes
Jimmy Martinez
Ralph “Tiger” Jones
Al Andrews
Willie Pastrano

and was further tested in losing efforts against:

Jimmy Carter
George Araujo
Tommy Campbell
Yama Bahama
Gene Fullmer
Joey Giardello