MONTREAL – Canadian boxer Dave Hilton Jr., the reigning World Boxing Council super-middleweight champion, was found guilty on Friday on nine charges of sexually abusing two girls under the age of 14 and could face a career-killing 14 years in jail.

Quebec Judge Rolande Matte, delivering her verdict to a packed courtroom, said she did not believe Hilton's testimony or find defense witnesses credible.

"I disbelieve the testimony of the accused, and his defense did not raise any reasonable doubt in my mind," Matte said. "I find the (defense) proposal of collusion and recent fabrication totally unreasonable."

Hilton, 37, had denied abusing the girls, now aged 16 and 17, over a three-year period ending in 1998. He will be sentenced on April 19.

During the 17-day trial witnesses said the assaults began with masturbation and oral sex when the girls were 12 and led to intercourse when they were 14. The hearing was held without a jury at the request of the defense.

The short, stocky boxer looked stunned when Matte revoked his bail and sent him straight to jail, despite his lawyer's argument that he should remain free on bail to continue treatment for alcoholism.

Defense lawyer Paul Skolnik said he would consider an appeal.

"He has been found guilty of one of the most serious crimes in the criminal code," prosecutor Helene Di Salvo said outside the courtroom, to cheers from friends, colleagues and of onlookers attracted by the highly publicized case.

Hilton had been due to defend his boxing title before the end of May and pocket around $160,000 in prize money. Now, even his agent says his boxing career may be over.

"If he is sentenced to a long jail term, it's going to be a disaster for his career, that's for sure. He is 37 year old, he is not going to get any younger," said agent Henri Spitzer.

The charges against Hilton included sexual assault, sexual interference of a child under 14 years of age and inviting sexual touching.

The teenagers said Hilton abused them in a Montreal home, and in hotel rooms in Ontario and Florida while the boxer was training for professional bouts. Some assaults took place while their mother or other relatives were asleep in the same room.

The identities of the teenagers are protected by court order and the two cannot be named. The court heard during the trial that Hilton had had a sexual relationship with the girls' mother between 1995 and 1999.

In his testimony Hilton admitted he could not recall specifics about certain events because he had been drinking heavily. But he denied the charges.

Hilton is the oldest of five sons in a Scottish-Irish family that includes younger brother Matthew, winner of International Boxing Federation junior-middleweight world crown in 1987.

A fast and powerful boxer, Dave Hilton Jr. became world champion late in his career. He has a professional record of 39 victories, two losses and three draws, with 26 knockouts.

But the Hiltons also gained notoriety in Montreal for questionable behavior outside the ring. In the early 1980s, a Quebec government report indicated they were being managed by Frank Cotroni, former head of Montreal's Mafia.

Hilton won the super-middleweight title in December by defeating South Africa's Dingaan Thobela in a split decision in Montreal. His agent said he was to face either Eric Lucas or Glenn Catley to defend his title.