Nicknamed "The Georgia Deacon", he rose to prominence in the early 20th century, becoming the first African-American World Middleweight Boxing Champion after defeating Harry Greb to claim the title in 1926.

In addition to becoming the first black Middleweight champion, Tiger's unprecedented accumulation of wins (136) and knockouts (56) in his career spanning less than ten years proved to many skeptics that African-Americans could compete at the highest level.

They had a daughter named Verna Lee Flowers (Jackson) born on September 9, 1921, in Georgia and died on April 18, 2021, at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles, California.

After Theodore Flowers's death wife Willie Mae Spellers and daughter, Verna Lee moved to Los Angeles, California.

After working as a stevedore on the Georgia coast, Flowers temporarily relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1918; this is where he ultimately began boxing professionally at the age of 23.

Flowers combined showmanship inside the ropes with a public persona characterized by sobriety and religious devotion; eventually becoming donned "The Deacon".

Like many other African-American boxers of the time period, Flowers found it difficult to obtain fights with white fighters early in his career.

Greb checked into an Atlantic City clinic for surgery to repair damage to his nose and respiratory tract caused by his ring career and several car crashes.

[6] An important figure in Atlanta, Georgia's black community, Tiger was remembered as a deacon for the Butler Street CME Church and as a member of the lodges of Masons, Elks, and Knights of Pythias.

Estimates put the number of mourners who turned up to show their respects at around 75,000, with an additional 7,000 crammed the City Auditorium to witness a lavish memorial service.