I see no good reason why he couldn't beat all of the current belt holders on any given day. He is just as skilled (if not more so) than many title holders today, is far busier than most of them, and has fought against a wider array of styles. There is nothing in today's Middleweight landscape that would trouble him style-wise or skill-wise. The only potential factor against Giardello is that he is a legitimate Middleweight, and several of today's belt holders would really be Light Heavyweights in his era.
I'll say this for sure...that the version of Joey that beat Tiger for the title,...and the version that beat the Hurricane would be champion today.
It wouldn't surprise me but that really takes nothing away from today's middles. Giardello remains underrated. That said, I believe prime GGG beats him but we don't have that version any longer.
The key words are "on any given day." Giardello sometimes entered the ring in less than optimal condition. Skillwise, he would be competitive with anyone. He just didn't have the fullscale dedication of guys like Hagler and Hopkins.
