Set against the backdrop of the "Thrilla in Manila", the epic 1975 battle which many aficionados consider the greatest heavyweight fight ever, this text offers an insight into the 30-year feud between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. American sports journalist Mark Kram has spent nearly the same amount of time preparing to write this book - and the result is this piece of research and social history. When Ali and Frazier met in Manila for the third act of their trilogy of fights, their rivalry had spun out of control. More than a clash of personalities and fighting styles the rivalry, enflamed by the media, took on overtones of politics and race. But in the aftermath of Manila the hype no longer mattered: one man was left with a ruin of a life; the other was battered to his soul. Frazier is now in an advanced state of blindness, still consumed by hate; Ali's once agile and powerful body is withered by the grip of Parkinson's disease.