What are your thoughts on giardello? from what i have read about him he was a hard as nails fighter who didnt like training
He hated training, and was less than dedicated at times, but he fought so often, and he learned so much in the ways of ring wizardry, he more than compensated for having no amateur experience. He was a bit of a puncher, believe it or not, in the fifties when he was a fixture in the "Friday Night Fights"..but he was erratic, that slacking off of training resurfacing, resulting in some losses that held him back...though he fought so often that it's almost inevitable that losses would occur. He got his break against Gene Fullmer in 1960 in Bozeman Montana and after a hellaciously dirty and foul-filled bout that was ruled a draw, he had to wait until 1963 to fight for the title again, this time against old foe Dick Tiger, whom he had already split two fights, both decisions, with. Joey won the title over the 15 round distance purely on guile and being in great shape, in his own words, "I could've beaten a heavyweight that night"..Joey outslicked and beat Ruben Hurricane Carter over 15 rounds in '64, a bout that, despite a farcial movie on Carter that had Carter being robbed, really wasn't controversial at all..Joey took his sweet time getting back to Tiger for a rematch, however, a fact that embittered Tiger and served to stoke the fire of the man from Nigeria and motivate him to decisively out fight and outpoint Giardello in late '65. Joey returned for a few bouts, getting tko'ed by Cash White and then finally splitting two decisions with then undefeating Jack Rodgers, and going out a winner after that nod over Rodgers.
Yeah, he was an "on the job" trainee...self taught in many respects..what a master boxer he was, along with being tough and basically a fearless fighter.
That really was a terrific post. I just want to add that Giardello and Fullmer bore a lifelong grudge over that draw in Bozeman, which was obvious to everybody who attended any IBHOF induction weekend where the two of them were present. They made no effort to hide their animosity. Apparently, Joey went to his grave wanting to bury the hatchet in Gene's head. Once, when the Boston Celtics played in Philadelphia, a very obnoxious Philly fan heckling the Celtics broadcast team tried to provoke them into a fight. During a commercial break, legendary catankerous play by play announcer Johnny Most told his color commentator, "Okay, now go get him!" When the guy turned around, he **** his pants, confronted with the middleweight champion of the world, and only managed to stammer out, "Oh! N-n-nice game, isn't it Joey?" before retreating back to his courtside sanctuary.
This fight was from Giardello's peak as a contender in the late '50s, against the dangerous fringe contender Randy Sandy. [yt]j9_TGRlt4BI[/yt] [yt]ybW1QvR7YIU[/yt] [yt]czvGs9aq9Ts[/yt] [yt]XcPPt3MA-h0[/yt] This fight was typical of a lot of Giardello's performances. Note the quickness and skill he shows, especially in the early rounds, and the willingness to mix it up at close quarters; but at the same time, notice how he gets drawn into an ugly inside slugfest as the fight progresses, and he ultimately does just enough to win, as he did in many of his winning efforts. Here's Giardello's defining moment, in which he outboxed Dick Tiger to finally become a world champion after many years of campaigning: [yt]ZQlp0NQP4BE[/yt] [yt]DTYVmyXwx8o[/yt] [yt]ZmwJX-WOg60[/yt] [yt]9C0onlxDZfE&feature=related[/yt] By this time, Giardello may not have been as quick and explosive as he had been earlier in his career, but this was about his most disciplined boxing performance ever. Giardello was supposed to have gotten a title shot several years earlier against then champion Bobo Olson, but he injured his knee in a car crash and was replaced by Pierre Langlois. Sometime around that same time, he also was arrested and convicted on assault and armed robbery charges (under some questionable circumstances) and was in jail for several months, which also hampered his career right when he should've been at his peak. He also was prevented (along with a number of other top contenders) from getting a title shot by Ray Robinson's low activity title reign and endless series of "rivalries" with the likes of Olson, Fullmer, and Basilio.
He was impressive in picking apart Willie Troy: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny_tiYLIFCw[/ame] Troy wasn't the only one to experience Giardello's early round blitz: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_G59OqGUeY[/ame]
Yes, Giardello sued the movie's producers for libel and won a settlement. I knew Rubin Carter back in the 1960's. I 1st met him at Riverside Oval in Paterson, New Jersey and he and a couple of his friends went across the street to the bowling alleys. He saw me following him and then he asked me if I knew how to keep score, so I said yes, and so I did. Several weeks later he was pitching softball one day at the Oval and he yelled to me, "kid do you want to be our batboy." I did that too. It's Great seeing Giardello boxing Dick Tiger. The referee was Paul Cavaliere, and he was another good friend of mine. He beat Braddock and Galento and on his 85 birthday, I presented him with a World Championship belt, saying that he was the Uncrowned Champion. When Cavaliere passed away, I gave the Eulogy and last year when Giardello passed on, I did the same for him. Here's a letter I received from Joey's son. Henry, on behalf of my family, I would like to thank you for your kind words and bell ceremony during our fathers funeral last week. My mother was very pleased with the way you portrayed Dads career and the fact that you only rang the bell nine times. I know pop would have liked it himself. I would also like to apologize for not thanking you in person but with everything that was going on at that moment, it had slipped my mind. Once again Thank You Very Much. Sincerely Joseph P Tilelli
Giardello vs Tiger 3 is one of my favrouite perforamnces to watch absouloutly love it. And the 4th fight is a brillaint tactical fight aswell.