Juste Fontaine was once a gym sweeper in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Around 1943 former welterweight champion Fritzie Zivic took him under his wing and taught him to box in a Pittsburgh gym. Fontaine was a hard puncher who fought his way to a sixth place ranking among world lightweights. Juste ran into a formidable opponent, lightweight champion, Ike Williams, who battered him into submission in May 1947. From this point on Fontaine's career dipped and he was never considered the bright prospect he had been when won his first six fights, four of them by knockout.