Dear LIB readers; Is my fiance a woman beater or not?

From a female LIB reader

I am engaged to be married to a man who people say is a woman beater. We have been dating for 8 months but he has never hit me. In fact, he's never acted aggressively towards me. But a mutual friend with his ex-wife told me the woman left while pregnant with their second child because he beat her so badly she feared she would lose the child. In panic, because I am so against domestic violence and don't want to be a victim, I contacted the ex, who told me she suffered abuse in his hands for all the time they were married and that was why she ended the marriage. They were married for only three years. When I confronted my man with this info, he denied it and swore on his children's life that he has never laid his hands on a woman and would sooner cut his arms before raising it to hit a woman. He sounded so sincere but why would a woman lie about being abused? I'm confused. I don't want to be a victim of domestic violence. Who should I believe; my man or his ex-wife?