Jim Hegerle (February 17, 1936 – June 26, 2007), also known as Jimmy Hegerle, was a light heavyweight professional boxer from

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Professional career

Hegerle made his professional debut against Walter Quinn on June 8, 1954, recording a win by fifth-round knockout. His first lost came in only his third professional fight, against Al Alexander, the following March. The loss didn't deter Hegerle, in fact his early career was sprinkled with occasional losses and draws, but he continued to fight frequently, and by April 1956 Hegerle had compiled a record of 19–3–2. In May Hegerle faced his first notable opponent, Jimmy Martinez, whose record was 69–23–9. Martinez beat him on points, but in a rematch only two weeks later, Hegerle returned the favor. The following month Hegerle faced 7–1–1 Joe Schmolze, who would become his chief rival. The two would fight on June 21 (a TKO win for Hegerle) and on August 22 (a

majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on whi ...

for Schmolze, then again on August 14, 1958 (a split decision win for Schmolze) and one last time on

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

of 1959 (a fifth-round TKO win for Hegerle). Of the four meetings, the last two were for the Minnesota light heavyweight championship. Other notable boxers who Hegerle fought included Del Flanagan,

Clarence Cook Clarence Chatham Cook (September 8, 1828 – June 2, 1900) was a 19th-century American author and art critic. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Cook graduated from Harvard in 1849 and worked as a teacher. Between 1863 and 1869, Cook wrote a serie ...

Gene Fullmer Lawrence Gene Fullmer (July 21, 1931 – April 27, 2015) was an American professional boxer and World Middleweight champion. Professional career Fullmer began his professional career in 1951 and won his first 29 fights, 19 by knockout. His mana ...

, Neal Rivers, and

Nino Benvenuti Giovanni "Nino" Benvenuti (born 26 April 1938) is an Italian former professional boxer and actor. He held world titles in two weight classes, having held the undisputed super-welterweight championship from June 1965 to June 1966 and the undisput ...

, all of whom beat Hegerle, and Dick Lane, whom Hegerle defeated. Hegerle retired from professional boxing with a record of 36–18–3 with 20 wins coming by knockout.

Notes

1936 births Light-heavyweight boxers Boxers from Saint Paul, Minnesota 2007 deaths American male boxers {{US-boxing-bio-stub