FNF: Marco Antonio Barrera versus Erik Morales I

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Figured with Garcia/Morales II being officially announced this week, part of a card to welcome boxing back to Brooklyn, what better way to celebrate than making this weeks Friday Night Fight the 2000 Fight of the Year Barrera/Morales I. When you talk most exciting fighters in the last decade you will hear the same names repeated again. Marquez, Pacquaio, Barrera, Morales, Gatti, Ward, Vazquez. Really in the lower weight classes we witnessed some of the best fights of all time. Barrera/Morales I might be the one which kick started all the others. It made each mans career, became a signature fight for them one which people will always look back on when reviewing the careers of both men. You want to know how Marco Antonio Barrera fought, how Erik Morales fought? Watch this fight. It’s hard to believe 12 years later we still have Erik Morales in the ring. The man has an undying will to fight, to prove his mettle in the center of the ring. In October he’ll get yet another chance to prove the game hasn’t moved past him.

First Cut: Joe

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First Cut Friday is back in full effect. One of our favorite producers is Joe “The Boss” Mansano. Although he was far from a prolific producer he generally only put out quality cuts. His Joe label is one of those labels that isn’t sought after simply for being a rarity to come across, the man put out some serious gold with regularity. And his Brixton Cat LP, which compiled a number of his finer productions, is a highly sought after prize for any collector. Although this particular track comes with a matrix stamp DU-24, as far as anyone has records this was the first 45 put out on the label. Indicative of what was to come. Mansano used Rico Rodriguez quite a bit so it’s only fitting the first record he puts out on his own label features the man doing his thing. Another fine start to a classic label.

"Savage Colt" by the El Dorados

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We and Jamaicans share a lot of common interests. One of the biggest? Spaghetti Westerns. It may seem like a bit of stretch when you look at the logistics of it. How exactly did it come to pass that Italian produced Westerns became so popular all the way over in Jamaica? There’s likely been some sort of study done on it, but we haven’t seen it. Its easy to see the appeal with the rude boys of the day. It was common for them to get a little too excited during showings of “For a Fistful of Dollars” and “Death Rides a Horse” and other Spaghetti Western classics and start shooting at the screen in tandem with their big screen heroes. Regardless of how they got there they had a big impact on Jamaican society. Since music is oftentimes a reflection on society of the day it’s not surprising that reggae tracks inspired by the genre popped up en masse. This is one of our favorites: Savage Colt by The Eldorados. Really the genre was responsible for numerous huge instrumentals and DJ cuts, so while one of our favorites there still is a lot of gold one can search out. We suggest starting out with the Magnificent Fourteen compilation Trojan put out. Then if you’re lucky enough get a copy of the Big Gundown compilation put out by Earmark. You’re in for a treat.

Kid Dynamite

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It’s been awhile since we’ve just sat down and enjoyed watching the highlights of a fighter. It’s debatable if there has ever been a fighter that provided more highlights throughout his career than Mike Tyson. He was quite simply a destroyer, a man who had one of the most impressive, devastating and violent rises to the top of the sport in its history. Before he took on the “Iron” monicker, Mike was known as Kid Dynamite. Our personal favorite nickname for him. Few nicknames in the sport have ever been more definitive of the fighter, Mike’s KO power and bursts of violent flurries unrivaled. The rest of his life has been just as incredible of a journey as the beginning of his career. Who would have thought the kid in this video would end up on Broadway doing a one man show?

Big Sam Gets Big Andy

Big Sam has finally landed his man. It was confirmed by the club today that West Ham have completed the signing of Andy Carroll on a season long loan. Let us be honest: we didn’t want Andy at the club. It seemed as though he had no desire to play for the club and while that was the case we had no use for him. Our thinking was if he thinks he’s too good for West Ham than he can jog on. Now that he’s signed for the year, we’re behind him 100%. While certainly still wary of just how well Andy will fare, if he’s a Hammer he’s a Hammer and he gets our full support. Certainly when we look at the situation more objectively it looks like it could be a very good piece of business. Big Sam’s style of play is built around whipping the ball into the box towards a big striker and/or scoring off of set pieces. Andy Carroll, all 6’3” of him, is built for that style of play. We’re not going to see any tika-taka style passing or Messi inspired mazy runs through defenders, he’s a goal poacher and a very serious aerial threat. Yes his stats last season were far from impressive but at the same time he had Stewart Downing providing service. We rest our case. So let’s get on with it Andy. Make us regret ever doubting you.

West Ham 2 Crewe 0

Nice snap of one of our summer signings, Modibo Maiga, banging in one at Crewe on Tuesday evening. By all accounts the match was a bit of a walk in the park with a load of fringe players getting a run out to show their stuff. Alou Diarra landed his first full cap playing in the center of defense and we personally rather seem him partnered in the middle of the park with Winston Reid rather than James Collins. We were as pleasantly surprised with Collins performance in the Villa match as everyone else, but does he really have what it takes to perform at that level throughout an entire season? Diarra excels in the middle of the park as a defensive midfielder but we have Diame to play that role as well as get forward with the ball. Stephen Henderson started in goal for West Ham which may be a sign that Big Sam is moving on from Jasskelainen. We hope so at least, Henderson is a very talented youngster. It’ll be interesting to see whether either goalscorer, Maiga or Nicky Maynard, start on the weekend. Big Sam is going to have some tough choices in his team selection this week.

"Neil Armstrong" by the Hippy Boys

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We wanted to honor Neil Armstrong, but we were unsure how to do it in our way. A dig through a record box with a faint recollection of possibly owning a track by the Hippy Boys that was titled after the American astronaut and first man to step foot on the moon brought us to this track. Although the impact of the moon landing on society as a whole cannot be understated, we’ve always found it interesting just how excited many Jamaican recording artists seemed to be about it. Just look at the number of skinhead reggae tunes with “Moon” in the title. It’s also been said certain stylistic traits of the astronauts casual wear had an influence on skinhead style. Neil Armstrong is bigger than all that though. Icon is a oft misused phrase nowadays. Mr. Armstrong was one man the word icon was never misused when describing him. Rest in peace.

West Ham 0 Swansea 3

This wasn’t exactly a great sight for West Ham supporters yesterday afternoon. Yes that’s James Collins watching Swansea’s Michu chase down his back pass. Collins looked a completely different player then the Man of the Match in last weekends opening day win. Jussi Jaaskelainen didn’t fair much better. Jussi has been one of the most reliable ‘keepers in the Premier League throughout his career so mistakes are few and far between but that doesn’t mean much after his calamitous error on Saturday. We’re left wondering if perhaps Big Sam takes a chance on young Stephen Henderson next week. There was very few positives in yesterdays match so we’re just going to think forward to the next one. Also, to those West Ham supporters who were acting like the loss was a sign of the end of the world: keep it together. We’re not going to win them all and Swansea smashed QPR for 5 last weekend. We’ve got a lot of improvements to make but one loss in August won’t be the story of our season.

FNF: Livingstone Bramble versus Ray Mancini II

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We know we’ve been slacking on Friday Night Fights as of late. We’re done slacking. We want to get you set up for the weekend in style so between Friday Night Fights and First Cut Fridays we should be able to do that. Let’s get to it. Livingstone Bramble was a, shall we say, interesting character. Boxing’s full of ‘em but Bramble might take the cake. Hailing from Saint Croix but born in Saint Kitts and Nevis, Bramble was hounded by accusations of practicing witchcraft throughout his career. Accusations he never denied. Various rumors circulated, as they do, about cutting off the ears of dogs and rabbits for good luck or decapitating birds to offer their blood to prevent himself from shedding blood in the ring. He also had a fascination with snakes and pitbulls, often entering the ring with a snake draped across his shoulders. Ray Mancini was just about as opposite as you can get. The son of a World War II veteran, Ray’s story was an easy one for the public to get behind. His father Lenny Mancini had been a promising prospect in the Lightweight division prior to the outbreak of WWII. Injured in action he was never able to return to his pre-war heights. Ray fought for him, in the very same weight class, and took on his nickname: Boom Boom. Mancini’s style also endeared him to fans. Those type of cats who never take a step back and throw punches in bunches are always easy to like. So when Bramble and Mancini met for the second time some bad blood had brewed between the two camps. The fighters trainers, Lou Duva and Murphy Griffith respectively, nearly went at it at the press conference. The first fight had been a war and many expected the same for the second. It lived up to the expectations.

First Cut: Upsetter

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We like to keep it new and interesting here. And our weekends kind of get away from us. So we’re introducing another Friday feature. This one we’re gonna call First Cut Fridays. It’s real simple, when we put up the Errol Dunkley track “Please Stop Your Lying” and realized it was the first tune released on Amalgamated we got an idea. So every Friday til we run out of labels we’re gonna put up the first track ever released on skinhead reggae labels. Simple right? We went for an obvious one to kick this off. The Upsetter subsidiary of the legendary Trojan label is considered by many to be one of the best labels for skinhead reggae. It helps they kicked it off with “Eight for Eight” by The Upsetters b/w “You Know What I Mean” by The Inspirations. It was a pretty solid indication for what would come for the label. Creepy introduction of the track courtesy of Lee Perry himself followed by a massive organ led instrumental, very much the sort of sound the genre would become known for. Then you flip the thing over and BAM! Completely different but still incredible, a top vocal cut. The single would have been worth every penny. And the quality continued throughout the rest of 1969. Pretty good way to start wouldn’t you say?

Welcome Matty Jarvis

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We lose our number 7, we pick up a number 7. Matt Jarvis was officially unveiled as a West Ham player today, going straight into the squad heading to Swansea tomorrow afternoon. The transfer process was a long and drawn out but Big Sam has got his man. Jarvis adds a great attacking threat in the final third and one of the best crossers of the ball in that area. He won’t bang in a lot of goals but if the opportunity comes to him to finish he’ll do the job. We’re aware a lot of West Ham supporters hate Big Sam and his style of play but that said he’s at least getting the right players to play his system. Jarvis providing service to Carlton Cole could be a very fruitful partnership and our likely lineup at the top of the pitch of Jarvis, Cole and Ricardo Vaz Te is quite an imposing one. We’ll hold off on giving our final assesement on the transfers in and out of the club over the summer til the window closes, but so far Big Sam has done good.

Sounds and Pressure

Why yes that is a wall full of speakers. Meet the Sounds and Pressure Sound System probably the best vintage sound system anywhere in the world. They have the annual 1970 Bank Holiday Revival at the IOW rally this weekend. If you can make it out and don’t there is likely something wrong with you. We were going to do a write up on them but figured we’d let them describe themselves:

Sounds and Pressure Sound System specializes in serving up the choicest cuts of hard 60s reggae, rocksteady, ska and soul to tingle the tastebuds of any 60s freak. Our business is massive, heavyweight sound systems, in the original Jamaican style and designed to level buildings. We work alongside and support regular clubs all around the UK, such as Scorcher, Blue Cat and Liquidator and promote regular shows by some of the great names in Jamaican music, such as Derrick Morgan, Pat Kelly, Dave Barker and George Dekkar.

Bazooka Limon

If being a warrior put people in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Rafael “Bazooka” Limon would be a first ballot hall of famer. We love all kinds of fighters here at For The Suits. From the defensively gifted to the men who have moved around the ring with skill and poise to rival a ballerina, we appreciate every different style of fighter. But we have to admit, we appreciate the hard luck battler more than anything. A record doesn’t mean nearly as much to us as does a man possessing the heart to leave everything thing he has in the ring over the course of every single fight. So, as you might have guessed by now, we love Bazooka Limon. His style was far from perfect. He often times had more punches land on the arms of opponents than on their heads. But that didn’t matter, when you punch with the regularity and ferocity that Limon possessed you quickly made opponents think twice about just how long they wanted to stand toe to toe with you. Numerous times throughout his career he was written off as past his sell by date. But you can never underestimate a cat like Limon. A lot of great life lessons can be learned through the sport of boxing. One is that much like an opponent in the ring, life throws everything it can at you. You have to be the one to withstand it all and keep moving forward, never accepting defeat. Limon embodied that mentality. It didn’t matter how many times he was put down, he was going to do his damnedest to get back on his own two feet. It was that mentality that gave him a special kinship with Bobby “Schoolboy” Chacon. Their four fights over the course of seven years were all wars. The men were too similar in their dogged determination to be anything but great opponents for one another. The fourth fight between the two, featured here a few days ago, is one of the greatest of all time. It didn’t take place amidst the glitz and glam better known fighters get. It was fought in the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento in front of a rabid crowd. The sort of place Limon could shine. He may have lost the fight, but with Limon the story was never about the wins. It was about a man who never quit. Thus we felt it fitting to use the picture we used. It isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about never admitting defeat.

In The Blood

New book to keep your eyes open for. Or you can just go order it from Amazon, up to you really. In The Blood is written by some character called Snowy alongside Pete McKenna, he of Night Shift fame. Haven’t heard anything about the book ourselves as of yet, and we’ve yet to read, but the story centers around an East End gangster in 1967. Obviously his name would be Ronnie Hardman. Mr. Hardman has a love for Motown you see, and it’s the only thing keeping him sane. Then a bird comes into his life, starts to change him, he’s at a crossroads, etc. Get it? Sounds like a fun read to us.

Bye Bye Baldock

Well it’s official. Sam Baldock has been shipped off to Bristol City. We hate to see the lad go. During the preseason he was banging ‘em in for fun and things were looking up for Baldock. But a small striker was never going to be in Big Sam’s plans. Allardyce has been longing for another big target up front, hence the feverish attempts to sign Andy Caroll on loan. In our opinion the big man we already have, Carlton Cole, is better than Andy who is all around a useless twat. Needless to say we were happy when it all fell through. But Baldock’s departure is a bit of a disappointment in our eyes as his potential seemed to be on the rise. He came in with a flurry of goals and went out with a flurry as well. Odd business. That said Allardyce has been doing good business in this transfer window so we’ll hold back any outrage or condemnation ‘til we see this all play out.

Bazooka Limon versus Bobby Chacon IV

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We’re in the process of writing a profile of Bazooka Limon, one of the most exciting fighters of all time. While you’re waiting for that watch his epic fourth fight with Bobby Chacon (we did a profile on Bobby earlier in the year). For us it is, hands down, the greatest fight of all time. You will never see two men attack each other with such force and keep it up for the duration that Chacon and Limon do. It’s a superhuman performance from both men. At times you might think the camera is in fast forward. And they keep that pace up for the entire fight. Everyone who watches this fight will hit a point where you have to ask yourself how they are still standing and battering each other with such ferocity. Numerous points in the fight would have resulted in a stoppage nowadays. Watch this fight.

West Ham 1 Aston Villa 0

Well we returned in a bit of style now didn’t we? It made not have been an absolutely emphatic victory, the kind a team would like to have to really make a statement, but yesterday’s 1-0 victory over Aston Villa showed a lot of promise. James Collins was a rock at the back, coming up with a few timely tackles and blocks when we needed it to start to put to bed any doubts over his worth. Collins definitely was the Man of the Match yesterday, and if he can keep it up him and James Tomkins will be a very formidable partnership in the center of defense. Imagine us, playing well defensively! Momo Diame was another standout yesterday. The lad is an absolute beast in the middle of the park, able to win the ball AND keep possession. At times he looked a different class. Our single goal wasn’t the prettiest, but it ain’t a beauty contest now is it?

Derrick Morgan, Jack of All Trades

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Did you happen to know Derrick Morgan wasn’t just an incredibly talented vocalist? The man responsible for a dozen or so absolutely legendary ska, rocksteady and reggae tracks also happened to have a bit of a knack for producing as well. It certainly had to help that he had Lyn Tait and the Jets backing all his vocals as well as putting out some classic instrumentals on the way. Here we have The Black Brothers with “Give Me Loving” (a tune Derrick himself later recorded for his Moon Hop LP on Pama), a great rocksteady cut. Listen to the vocals first and then go back and pay attention to the instrumental work on it. Class all around. Perfect for a Sunday.

Admiral Ken

One of our favorite photos. Admiral Ken unloading his sound. Can’t remember his name now but word has it the lad of the left, in the back of the truck, was a pretty talented boxer. Not hard to imagine. If you happen to know who he is, let us know. Not the worst dressed bunch either are they? Pretty much everything we’re into in one picture.

Salvador Sanchez versus Danny Lopez

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It’s been 30 years to the day since one of, if not the, greatest boxer to ever come out of Mexico meteoric rise to the top of the boxing world was tragically cut short. Salvador Sanchez died in a car crash, only 23 years old, with many exciting prospects awaiting him. In his young life he had already managed to reach some of the biggest heights in the sport boasting a 44-1-1 record with 32 kayos and the Featherweight title in his possession. This is the fight which won him the first, and only, title he’d hold before his death. It put him on the map and made him one of the biggest names in the game and may have been his finest moment in the ring. Rest in peace, champ.

Allo, Alou

Another West Ham new boy was made official yesterday as French defensive midfielder, Alou Diarra, put pen to paper to join the club on a three year contract. There’s been moans regarding the lads age, but for the price we got him at one should hardly complain. He’s long been one of the best at his position and personally we believe he’ll shine at the club. Between him and Momo Diame our midfield has gotten far stronger, without losing any quality, and with Modibo Maiga added upfront West Ham look to be positioning themselves for a successful season back in the Premiership.

The Skinhead and the Copper

Not sure where the picture is from originally, but this popped up on Twitter today courtesy of the A Casual Mind account. Who would have thought Twitter would be the place to find quality snaps like this? Either way this is a Chelsea skinhead getting the ever so lovely steel toe test done by a copper. Willing to be the cop didn’t do the test with the usual gusto with cameras around. What a great fucking shirt!

Celebrate Jamaica's Independence

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It’s kind of a big day in Jamaica and the many expatriate Jamaican communities spread around the globe. August 6th, 2012 marks the 50th Anniversary of Jamaican independence. We’ll let Lord Creator break the story of Jamaican independence down to you though. Put on your favorite Jamaican record and have a Red Stripe, it’s the least you can do to celebrate the Independence of a country responsible for so many wonderful things from rocksteady to curry goat.

No Mas Does It Right

If you’re like us, you always want to look your best. Probably why you visit the site. Our boxing coverage might be another reason, at least we hope so. It’s hard to mix the two, a lot of boxing shirts are either made for working out or are promotional shirts for boxing shows. Well problem solved. The cats over at No Mas have been making some killer gear since 2004 and we, unfortunately, just now came across them. They don’t solely do boxing shirts and hoodies, but the ones they do are epic. Muhammad “Cassius Clay” Ali is well represented, but they also got shirts for lesser known fighters such as a Hawk Time shirt for Aaron Pryor and a shirt for Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini. Long story short, we could rave about them for hours but you need to just go and check them out. Click the picture to go to the site.

Aaron Pryor

Aaron Pryor’s story is one of a man who reached some of the greatest heights in the sport of boxing yet his true potential will never be known. Hard to believe for a man who was voted the greatest Junior Welterweight of the 20th century by the Associated Press and whose 1982 showdown with Alexis Arguello was voted Fight of the Decade by Ring Magazine. He was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996. How many people with those sort of achievements still have people wondering what truly could have been? We’ll answer that right now, very few. Drug addiction took hold of Pryor in the mid-eighties and left the man a hollowed out shell of the once great champion. This is a man who fought many of the very best in the game during a golden age, who still holds one of the longest knockout streaks in boxing history and had the world proclaiming it was “Hawk Time”. Had drug abuse not tore apart his body while he was at his peak it’s possible a fight between him and “Sugar” Ray Leonard would have finally happened, their proposed fight in 1982 being forever put off by Leonard’s retirement. Pryor admits to breaking down in tears upon hearing the news, having to pull over on the highway while on his way to hype the fight at “Sugar” Ray’s post-fight press conference. Still it is his war with Alexis Arguello, which we’ve featured on this blog, for which he’ll forever be remembered. It is quite simply one of the greatest fights of all time. You can read our breakdown of it when you go to watch the video, which you should do right after this, but do know it will consume you and leave you wanting more. It’s a testament to the kind of fighter Pryor is and always has been that he has been able beat and move past his battle with drugs to now speak about the dangers of them. It’s just too bad the world didn’t get to see more of him performing at the highest level.