Fatal affair of punch drunk boxer who killed his lover

Those who watched Del Fontaine – a middleweight boxer blessed with matinee idol looks – glide around the ring at gloriously named Palais de Danse, West Bromwich, could never imagine they were witness to one chapter in boxing’s darkest story.

Canadian boxer Del Fontaine with Bristol-born Hilda Meek, for whose murder he was hanged in 1935
Canadian boxer Del Fontaine with Bristol-born Hilda Meek, for whose murder he was hanged in 1935

Fontaine’s dance partner that night, in May, 1933, was Brummie Alf Luxton, tough and battle hardened, but no match for his Canadian born tormentor. The one-sided contest underlined what a handful the handsome contender was in his pomp. Alf, a full-blown heavyweight, outweighed him by over two stone. Del didn’t give a fig.

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