Del Fontaine pugile

Del Fontaine ne Raymond Henry Bousquet (22 February 1904 – 29 October 1935) was a Canadian boxer who fought between 1925 and 1935. He is most notable within boxing for winning the Canadian middleweight boxing championship in 1926 and again in 1931. In 1932 he travelled to Britain to continue his boxing career, and began a relationship with Hilda Meeks of Bristol. In 1935, Fontaine was arrested and convicted of the murder of Miss Meeks and was hanged at Wandsworth Prison.Fontaine's boxing style was described as aggressive and crowd-pleasing, but with a poor regard for defence.French Canadian Fontaine was a resident of Winnipeg, Manitoba, with his first recorded boxing match against Sammy Hudson, a fellow Canadian from Moose Jaw. Fontaine won the bout by knockout in the fifth. Fontaine was unbeaten in his next six matches, including a draw with Jack Reddick, who was at the time Canadian light heavyweight champion. On 14 August 1925, Fontaine faced Harry Dillon at Regina, Saskatchewan for the vacant Canadian middleweight title. The fight went the distance of ten rounds, and Dillon won the Championship on a points decision.Despite his first professional defeat, Fontaine returned quickly to his original form, finishing his next four contests undefeated. On 8 May 1926, Fontaine had his second attempt at the Canadian middleweight belt which had become vacant. Fought in Ottawa against Henry Henning, Fontaine won the match and the title in the second round with a technical knockout over his opponent. From this point, Fontaine attracted a better class of fighter, beginning with his first fight outside Canada, travelling to Philadelphia in a win over experienced American Bobby Marriott. His biggest fight to date came on 16 August 1926 when Welsh fighter Frank Moody travelled from the U.S. to Canada to face Fontaine. The contest went the distance, with Moody victorious. Fontaine finished the year with two bouts in the U.S., a win over Joe Anderson followed by a points loss to Rocky Smith.The following year Fontaine travelled widely around the U.S. and Canada fighting with mixed results. His most notable fight that year was against Vincent Forgione, facing him twice in two months. After losing to Forgione by points in their first encounter, Fontaine was knocked out for the first time in his professional career when he faced Forgione for their second contest in July 1927. Fontaine continued fighting in North America over the next four years, and at the end of 1931 he faced Ted Moore, regaining the Canadian middleweight title.