The rise and fall of Montreal's fighting Hiltons - photos and timeline

20 Oct 82 A bout at the Paul Sauve Arena features Dave and Alex and attracts the largest-ever crowd at the venue with 7,311 on hand and a gate of $130k, with another 1,000 fans turned away at the door. The boys' great-grandmother Ellen White, 79, comes from St. Catharines Ontario to watch. “Monteralers are hooked on boxing again,“ Tim Burke announces.

 
25 Dec. 82 Dave Sr., 42,  suffers a heart attack. Doctors recommend he not work as a corner man. “There's more pressure on me not being there waiting in a hotel room smoking a whole pack of cigarettes. I'm at home there. I'm going to die, that's the perfect place for me to die with my boys.” 

28 Jan 83 “Davey Hilton, 19, could pass as twin of brother Matthew,  17,  the way to tell us apart is that I have to shave every two days he has to shave once a week," said Dave. Stewart, 14, is aiming to win a Golden Gloves title while Jimmy, 11, is also fighting, but brothers warn him to "stop below-the-belt tactics.” 

4 Feb 83  Tim Burke lobbies for Hiltons to fight at Forum. Dave Sr.. says, “The Forum, for boxing, is the Madison Square Garden of Canada, your boy fights in the Forum and they hear about it all over the world. He figths in the Paul Sauve and they say 'what the hell is that?'”  Henri Spitzer, promoter says Forum wants 20% of the gate or a flat rate, while the Paul Sauve costs just $5,500. Any match with less than 12,000 at the Forum would lose money. 

15 Feb 83 Dave Jr suffers a broken jaw in a fight against Sammy Gervins. He knocks Gervins down three times and won in a unanimous decision. "The pain was bad. I'm going to get some crazy glue to keep my left hand up by my chin."

8 April 83 Davey Jr. becomes father for the first time, naming his daughter Jeannie. The couple name Montreal mobster Frank Cotroni godfather. Davey marries Anna Maria Gatti on 17 April, with Cotroni prominent in attendance. 

18 Nov 83 Hilton brothers train with boxing legend Cuz D'Amato in the Catksills, New York. The brothers "They have the will to win, determination, competitive spirit and good minds. A kid won't make it if he's stupid. Boxing is 75 percent mental and emotional and 25 percent physical," he says. 

24 Nov 83 Large newspaper advertisements for A Gold and Sons feature photos of the six Hiltons men wearing sweaters. 

4 Dec 83  Davey, Alex and Matthew fight at the Forum, attracting 20,000 in heavy snow. It's declared the largest-ever crowd for a sports event at the Forum. Davey's headlining bout against Mario Cusson ends in the third round as both boxers clash heads and the fight is declared a draw. The other brothers win their bouts. Many vicious fights in the stands, one which saw an elderly man kicked into a pulp.  Dave Sr. says “I wish I was in the same position as my sons this week. I had the same chances they're getting now but it wasn't meant to be. They work harder and are more serious than I was. 

7 Dec 83 Tim Burke, in his newspaper column, urges Dave Sr. to “pace yourself. Your gifted sons need you now more than they ever have," and he urges Dave Jr. to "show up for the post-fight press conference the day after.”

1 Feb 84 Dave Jr. commits to a rematch with Cusson "I'm still ashamed all those people paid so much money and came away with nothing. This time i'll take him out in five or six.”25 March 84 Davey Jr. beats Cusson in 29 seconds of the first round at the Forum. Davey becomes welterweight champion. Alex wins his bout on the same card. Gossip columnist Thomas Schnurmacher reports on Davey's movie preferences and hobbies. “Earlier this week I played street hockey with my brothers and friends in rosemount. It's fun and kills time.” 

10 July 84 Davey Jr and Matthew win bouts. Tim Burke says of Davey: “now he's set to take on the world.” 

25 Jan 85 Stewart Hilton, 16, quietly now has a 72-5 record. Matthew Hilton beats Francisco Dejesus and confesses to a weakness. “I can't stay away from cakes and donuts, the gooy-ier the better."

31 Jan 85 Hiltons in contract talks with Don King, sparking fears that they'll no longer stick around town. George Cherry, who built their Rosemount gym, says it's a good deal for King. ”Davey assures them of a tremendous payday with that style and being white.” Cherry notes that King has a lot of legal issues.

15 March 85 Davey wins a fight in Las Vegas on the undercard of the Larry Holmes and David Bey heavyweight match. 

7 June 85 Davey wins another Las Vegas belt and retains something called the Continental Americans Welterweight title. He's now 21 and is 23-0-1 as a pro. 

8 June 85 Don King talks of holding a match between Davey and champ Aaron Prior at the Olympic Stadium or the Forum.  

14 Aug 85 Davey, now rated three in WBA rankings, breaks a leg and finger in a trail bike accident on his brother Stewart's bike behind their home in Rigaud. He expresses growing disillusionment with promoter Don King. The Pryor fight is put off as Pryor had become a "walking zombie." He notes that the brothers had been making much more money under the management of Henri Spitzer. 

 

22 Oct 85 The Hilton family lawyer Frank Shoofey is shot dead in his office on Cherrier Street. Days later Matthew wins a Sunday night bout. His father flatters his effort. “Matt has gone farther than Dave and Alex because he's most dedicated. He made up his mind a long time ago about what he wanted and that as a world title. And he does nothing that will hurt his chances. The others don't seem to want to pay the price that Matthew does.”   Alas only 3,500 showed up at the bout, far less than the at least 8,000 they'd hoped for. Matthew comments. “I have a lot of responsibility now. I've got to do well to make people forget about some of the mistakes Davey and Alex have mde. I'm no angel myself but I can't afford to do anything wrong now. Not only have I got to make people forget about the bad things but if I do good it'll be a good example for the boys.” Davey gets arrested for carrying a rifle into a nightclub. He eventually gets a $400 fine and his drivers license suspended for 90 days. He's now 20 pounds overweight. 

18 March 86 Davey still hasn't fought since last June and wants out of contract with Don King. He's still ranked the top five WBA welterweight. He notes that his contract called for purses of $20,000 for first two bouts in 1985 followed by $50,000 for each subsequent appearance. Instead he was offered $5,000 an undercard bout. Davey vows to wait until January 1987 to fight, as his contract expires at that time. 

9 May 86   Alex, 21, faces a series of minor criminal charges involving shooting guns, brawling, drunk driving, threatening his sister-in-law, and so forth. 

10 Sept 86 Stewart Hilton, aged almost 18, dies in car crash that also kills his girlfriend and mother of his child, Lucie Diotte, also 17. Diotte was in Grade 11 at a French language high school. The couple left behind an eight-month-old son. The two had planned to marry within a few weeks. Stewart had no license and was speeding when he crashed a Mazda into a bridge abutment near the family home in Rigaud. Hundreds attend the funeral and the four remaining brothers hauled the casket. Don King, who managed Stewart's career, attended. Stewart was 4-0 as a pro and 70-10 as an amateur.  

22 Jan 88 Davey slated to fight in Atlantic City on Tyson-Holmes undercard.  “I have a lot of regrets. I've been mixed up for a year and a half or two. My bike accident, my brother being killed. I had too many friends in town and was spending too much time hanging out in discos. “ 

31 April 1991 - Davey and Matthew Hilton rob a Dunkin Donuts on St. John's Blvd in DDO of $164. They get caught and plead not guilty. They are charged with armed robbery, wearing a disguise for purposes of committing a crime, possessing an unregistered .22 calibre rifle and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Dave jr. says "You try to do your best but they're 25 and 27 years old I can't tell them to go to bed and what time to get up in the morning. I'm shocked."

29 March 1994 Matthew, 28 and Jimmy 22, are found guilty of assault causing bodily harm following a fight outside a Pointe Claire bar in the summer of 1993. The duo beat three tourists from New Brunswick in a parking lot outside Cheers Bar on 9 June 1993. Matthew was on parole at the time for his role in the 1991 robbery. He spent five months in jail following his 1993 arrest and was released in Novemer of that year. Davey Hilton, 30, was also charged but was only located five months later in Cornwall, Ontario. Jimmy began the incident by accusing one of he three men of being an undercover police officer. The man was a miner. Matthew allegedly tossed the first punch. The three brothers beat and kicked one of the men until he lost consciousness.

 

5 Aug 1998 Davey Sr., 63 and Jimmy pleads guilty to assaulting a customer in a dispute in a Wal-Mart in LaSalle. Jimmy was sentenced to six months in prison and Davey Sr. ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.  Jimmy was the only brother to not box professionally. Jimmy had a criminal record of assault after beating three tourists in Pointe Claire in 1994 and breaking his parole the next year. 

14 Feb 2001 Davey Jr. on trial for sexual assault against minors. His brother Jimmy rambles on in a contradictory way in a manner that did little to help Davey's case. 

Jeanne Hilton

1 Sept 2004 Davey attempts to block the publication of a book co-authorited by his two daughters Jeannie and Anne-Marie detailig his incestual sexually molestation crimes against them since their early years.