Good Fight: Joey Giardello vs. Gil Turner

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by William Walker, Sep 16, 2021.



  1. William Walker

    William Walker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Expectation: This outta be a real dandy. Turner is probably one of the most entertaining fighters of all times, and when I watched Giardello's bout with Graham, he looked pretty entertaining as well.

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    1. Surprisingly, I thought Turner looked like the superior boxer. Giardello did the pressing, landing a number of good 1-2's, but Turner landed the harder punches of the two (particularly the overhand right), and made Giardello miss more punches than Giardello was able to cause Turner to miss. Close round. Turner.
    2. Turner stabbed hard left jabs into Giardello. Giardello also threw a good left jab himself. However, Giardello mainly stayed stationary, trying to land damaging 1-2's, which he occasionally found success in doing. Yet, Turner was the more aggressive and more effective fighter. He had the better jab and was throwing it more frequently. It's Turner's unpredictable ducks that I think Giardello had not yet learned to deal with. Turner.
    3. Turner became more relentless now. He was pinning Giardello on the ropes from time to time, leaving his jab behind to score to the body. Only difference is that as opposed to other matches, Turner was pacing himself more here, I think. He wasn't going all out trying to put Giardello away. Giardello countered Turner from every once and a while, but Turner landed a lot of hard rights which Giardello had no apparent solution for. Turner.
    4. The fiercest round yet to occur, most of the fighting was done inside, where both fought at a similar caliber. Giardello was starting to time Turner better. Even.
    5. A pretty good round for Turner, who sent Giardello partly out of the ropes in the early part of the round. Turner gave Giardello a going-over for most of the round, and I thought Giardello was suffering from it pretty badly as his legs looked unsteady more than a couple times in the round. Turner.
    6. Giardello's luck just doesn't turn. Turner remains consistent with his actions in round 5, and actually is even faster than he was in the 5th. Turner.
    7. The turning point of the fight: Turner showed wear and tear from the pace, slowing down, losing accuracy and umph in his shots, and finding himself defending more than earlier; Giardello was growing in confidence, was punching stronger and with greater accuracy, and was no longer on the defensive. Giardello.
    8. Giardello gave Turner a significantly bad beating at the beginning of the round, but Turner came back strong actually, and closed the stronger of the two. This was a very close round. Giardello.
    9. Giardello continued with his unfaltering attack, throwing a lot of jabs and straight hands; Turner scarcely threw so much as a backhand. Giardello.
    10. Turner began with his a last hurrah, a flurry of solid punches, using him the last of his energy, and Giardello stalked and sharpshooted from there. Turner went to his bicycle and was hurt more than a few times in the round. Giardello.

    Final score: 5-4-1 for Turner. Interestingly, first time I saw this I had it 5-4-1 for Giardello. What changed it for me was when I reviewed round 3, which I initially scored for Giardello, but gave to Turner on the second rewatch. Giardello just didn't do quite enough to win the fight in my opinion.

    Assessment:
    Giardello-He looked somewhat crude in comparison to his performance in Graham II. His punches were strong and well-formed was the only thing that impressed me about Giardello this time.
    Turner-I was neither too impressed with Turner. His desire to pace himself drew a rather out-of-character performance from the Philly brawler. He never looked too fantastic, and still lost the fight (officially).

    Verdict: It was a good fight with few clinches and both punching a lot, but it didn't reach my expectations. There was never a point of do-or-die for either boxer, and the bad film quality (especially for this time period) didn't make me like it any more. But I might still recommend this one. But I don't think you're list of greatest fights is impaired by not having seen this one.
     
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  2. robert ungurean

    robert ungurean Богдан Philadelphia Full Member

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    Turner is a very fun fighter to watch. Philadelphia fighters were either very slick or very aggressive at one time.
     
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  3. Jason Thomas

    Jason Thomas Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I scored the fight very close to the way you did:

    1--Turner
    2--Giardello
    3--Turner
    4--Even
    5--Turner
    6--Turner
    7--Giardello
    8--Giardello
    9--Giardello
    10--Giardello

    So I have Giardello winning 5-4-1. I wouldn't dispute this decision. While the film is okay, it isn't the clearest, and if those at ringside gave it to Giardello, there is certainly no basis to question that. During the first half of the fight I was wondering how Giardello got the nod, but he came on and Turner seemed to more or less run out of gas. It was obvious that during the early rounds Turner backed up Giardello, and in the later rounds Giardello backed up Turner.

    To my eye, Giardello looked significantly bigger.

    As for the quality of the fight, you are harder to please than I. I thought this a top of the line all around fight. Action and skill.

    These fifties fights really are usually fun to watch. A lot of exciting, bring the action fighters. No wonder boxing was highly rated on TV.
     
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  4. William Walker

    William Walker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Although we differ on a few points, we do not differ much.

    1) although I scored the fight for Turner on 2nd watch, it was so close that I am okay with the decision going to Giardello.
    2) yeah, Giardello looked so big here.
    3) you're right. I think I am harder to please when it comes to action, but I still think it was a good fight all the way. I think now that my verdict was overly harsh. I was just a little disappointed in each man's performance based on the previous films.
    4) you're so right about 50s boxing. It's hard to beat. Entertaining and skilled fighters seemed the norm rather than exception. I think the 50s was as good a decade as the 60s thru 90s as far as good fights go and probably even greater when it comes to skill level.
     
  5. scartissue

    scartissue Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I watched and scored this fight last year and loved it. This is what I wrote:


    Scored the 1953 Joey Giardello v Gil Turner fight last night. Oh, man, did they go at it. Wish the video was crisper, however. Scored on the rounds basis.

    Round 1: Even
    Round 2: Giardello
    Round 3: Turner
    Round 4: Turner
    Round 5: Turner
    Round 6: Turner
    Round 7: Giardello
    Round 8: Giardello
    Round 9: Giardello
    Round 10: Giardello

    Total: 5-4-1 Giardello (actual scores: 7-3, 5-3-2 and 7-2-1 all for Giardello)

    The writeup I saw on this suggested the wheels came off Turner's chasis after a nasty right in the 7th, but I didn't see it that way at all. In fact, I think Turner upped his output after that, but so did Joey. He wasn't sitting back just to counter, which made for a thrilling fight in the later rounds. Rounds 8 and 10 were exceptional.
     
  6. ChrisJS

    ChrisJS Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Love this fight.
     
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  7. William Walker

    William Walker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I was hoping to see your score. You're right, the pace did accelerate in the last few rounds. Those last few rounds were really good.
     
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