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With the latest round of
distribution of the movie "HURRICANE" to pay for view
and cable outlets to the largest segment of the population it is
important that some of the true facts, not shown in the film, be
known.
MOST of
the people in Convention Hall that night (12/14/64) including
myself and the majority of the working press thought that
Giardello won a close decision. SOME people thought Carter won but
obviously no one saw Carter beat Giardello to a pulp, as the
film depicts, with racism the underlying cause for the decision.
My reason for protesting the film is the portrayal of GIARDELLO as
one of the bad guys. The movie's apologists point to poetic
license in film-making. But Giardello is a real person with
a real family and a hard won reputation in the ring. IF Carter was
wrongly incarcerated for 18 years then the people responsible
should burn in hell, but to make Giardello a bad guy is
unconscionable. Joey is a beloved husband , father and
grandfather, highly thought of and respected by his friends and
neighbors. He has given much of his time to raise funds for the
ST. JOHN OF GOD SCHOOL FOR SPECIAL CHILDREN in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Although Joey Giardello didn't march in SELMA, he helped
financially more black middleweights of his era than anybody else
(including RAY ROBINSON) by NEVER ducking a deserving black
opponent, no matter how tough, risking his rating and enabling
many of them to earn the largest purse of their career by opposing
him.
That's how Giardello should be remembered by this generation of
movie goers - not by the total falsification of the events
pertaining to him on the screen.
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