ALWAYS A FIGHT : Canadian Boxer Has His Family in His Corner

Matthew Hilton, asked about his earliest memories of being a member of Canada’s Fighting Hiltons, began talking about the old Hilton family trailer.

“We’d travel all over Canada to amateur boxing tournaments in that trailer of Dad’s,” he said.

“We’d travel hundreds of miles in a day just to get to a tournament. The trailer was big enough for just two beds. Mom and Dad would be in one, and all five brothers would be in the other. Mom cooked meals on a hot plate.

“I guess I learned to fight in bed. I mean, I’d wake up in the middle of the night after Alex or Davey (Jr.) had run an elbow into my mouth or something, so I’d wake up fighting. We’d fight for a minute or two, a lot of yellin’, the other brothers would wake up, break it up, then everyone would go back to sleep.”

The Hiltons don’t travel in trailers anymore.

And they don’t have to sleep in the same bed anymore. These days, it’s jets, suites and room service.

On Friday night, Matthew Hilton, at 22 perhaps one of boxing’s developing superstars, will earn $375,000 when he defends his International Boxing Federation light-middleweight championship against Robert Hines at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Hilton’s bout is one of three headliners on the card. In the others, Thomas Hearns meets James Kinchen, and IBF middleweight champion Michael Nunn defends his title against Juan Domingo Roldan.

The Fighting Hiltons, up from poverty--and alcohol abuse. It’s a family torn by alcoholism and tragedy but brought to the heights by Matthew.

That the Hiltons should be Canada’s first family of boxing surprises no one in Canada. Matthew’s father, Davey Hilton, 48, was once Canada’s featherweight and junior middleweight champion.

Take a look at three more of the Fighting Hiltons:

--Davey Hilton’s oldest son, Davey Jr., a middleweight, had a 24-0-1 record, until he ran a motorcycle into a tree in 1986. Only recently has he resumed his pro career. --Alex Hilton was also once a brilliant prospect. But, like his father, he is an alcoholic. He has been in jail in Montreal for the last 18 months. He was first jailed for a series of alcohol-related offenses, including an assault on a bartender. His original 6-month sentence was extended after another assault occurred while he was in jail.

--Jimmy Hilton, 15, the youngest, is a fast-developing amateur.

The Hiltons were once the Five Fighting Hiltons. Now they are four, still feeling the pain from the loss of Stewart Hilton. On Sept. 4, 1986, Stewart, 17, died in an automobile accident near Montreal. His car ran into a bridge abutment and exploded. A friend died with him. There was no evidence of alcohol involvement in that accident, but alcohol has been as much a hallmark of the Hiltons as has boxing. Some say Davey Hilton had as many barroom fights as fights in the ring. When he retired in 1957, he had a pro record of 138-15.

And in all the bad times, the older Hilton--who says he hasn’t had a drink in 5 years--has taken the rap.

“When my boys were growing up, I was their hero--partly because of bar fights I’d get into. The boys saw a lot of them. I’d take them to a bar and say something like, ‘Watch, I’ll take on four guys in this place and beat them all.’

“They tried to do the things I did--get drunk and get into fights. For a long time, it was a joke. Then I began to see what was happening to my family. I was a poor example for my boys in those days.

“One morning I woke up after a bad night in a bar, and I told my wife, Lois, ‘That’s it, no more drinking.’

“She’d heard that before. But I meant it. Today, even the thought of having a drink makes me physically ill.”

Surprisingly, considering the Hiltons’ alcohol-caused heartaches, Matthew Hilton is a tavern owner in Montreal.

“Matthew doesn’t have the same kind of problem with drinking as his dad and Alex,” said a trainer, Mario Costa.

This is Canada Week in Las Vegas. On Monday, 3 days after Hilton defends his title for the second time, countryman Donny Lalonde will fight Sugar Ray Leonard at Caesars Palace.

“I’ve always had this dream in the back of my head, that I’d one day meet Sugar Ray Leonard in the Montreal Olympic Stadium, the scene of his last defeat in boxing (to Roberto Duran, in 1980),” Matthew said.

“But Donny will beat me to it. He’s going to beat Ray Monday.”

Hilton, a squarish, heavily muscled athlete and a relentless puncher, has one of boxing’s most feared left hooks. He’s 29-0, with 23 knockouts. And before he turned pro, he ran up one of the most impressive records in the history of amateur boxing, 106-0.

Hilton was to have been Canada’s welterweight at the 1984 Olympics, but his bond with his father was too strong.

“The Canadian Olympic people wouldn’t let Dad be in my corner at the Olympics,” he said.

“So I said, ‘Fine. Go find yourselves another welterweight.’ ”

Hilton, assuming he beats Hines Friday, wants to unify the light-middleweight championship.

“My next opponent will be Donald Curry (World Boxing Council champion), if he beats John Mugabi in January,” he said. “After that I’d want Julian Jackson (World Boxing Assn. champion).”

It’s a good thing Hilton and his brothers can fight, since none attended high school.

So his childhood memories are of trailers, highways without end, tiny motel rooms, hot-plate dinners, amateur boxing tournaments--and a lot of love.