'Hurricane' Blown Away

10/27/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

"The Hurricane" may very well nab a best actor Oscar for its star, Denzel Washington, but the film biography of boxing champion Rubin "Hurricane" Carter continues to raise questions over its accuracy. (Some critics charge that the filmmakers changed specifics of the story to make Carter, who spent nearly 20 years imprisoned for murders he did not commit, look like a better man than he was.) The latest poke at the movie's credibility now comes from Joey Giardello, 69, a former middleweight champ who says the film inaccurately depicts him as being "relentlessly pummeled" by Carter in a 1964 bout. Giardello, whose real name is Carmine Tilelli, has filed a federal defamation lawsuit in Philadelphia against Universal Pictures and the producers of the film. He seeks unspecified monetary damages as well as a demand to have a video clip inserted at the end of the movie that will allow audiences to see the actual footage of the fight. A representative for Universal said the company was unaware of the lawsuit and would not comment.