By Bob Caico

Joey Giambra, born July 30, 1931, as William Joseph Giambra, passed away in Las Vegas on Saturday at the age of 86. Giambra was an a top-rated middleweight contender from April 1953-May 1963. Joey faced and defeated most of the top contenders of his era. He was a good boxer and good hitter who compiled a career record of 65-10-2 with 31 knockouts. He was never stopped. During his career, he defeated such men as Joey Giardello, Attilio “Rocky” Castellani, Florentino Fernandez, Bernard Docusen, Ralph “Tiger” Jones, Rory Calhoun, Gil Turner, Chico Vejar, Al Andrews, Danny Womber, Pat Lowry, Jimmy Welch, Johnny Sullivan, Jimmy Herring, Sal DiMartino, Italo Scortichini and Charley Early. He lost a decision to Denny Moyer for the vacant WBA title in his only world title shot late in his career.