Hip hop legend Nas joins Nihal Arthanayake to discuss the making of 'The Fight of The Century - Ali v Frazier' and why the story of the two fighters still resonates in the twenty first century. Other topics include the legacy of Muhammad Ali, the enduring appeal of the Ali/Frazier rivalry, the similarities between boxing and rappers, plus the ongoing fight for racial equality around the world.

March 8th '71: Nearly four years after they first met in 1967, the eyes of the world are on a small, illuminated square of canvas in New York's Madison Square Garden as Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier get ready to go toe to toe. For the first time two undefeated heavyweights will fight for the title, but only one will leave the ring as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. In one corner is Muhammad Ali, 'The Greatest' and a man who put his career, life and reputation on the line...

Boxing gets the full Hollywood Treatment as Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier finally agree a deal to meet in the ring. The numbers are astronomical and break new boundaries in sports promotion, as the world readies itself for 'The Fight of the Century'. Under the watchful eye of Angelo Dundee, Ali heads to Miami for his training in order to prepare for what he hopes will be the fight that makes him heavyweight champion of the world once again. Frazier is also back in the gym, but he prefers the...

With the spectre of a prison sentence hanging over Muhammad Ali due to his refusal to be drafted, politicians and businessmen manoeuvre behind the scenes to try and secure him a boxing license before he faces his day in court. Meanwhile Joe Frazier comes up against his old foe Jimmy Ellis as he seeks to answer his critics and become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. However, Joe doesn't just have to worry about Jimmy Ellis, he's got other problems as Ali moves his growing...

As America prepares to put a man on the moon, Muhammad Ali is still banned from boxing and needs to find other sources of income. One unusual offer of cash comes from producer Murray Woroner and his idea for a 'Super Fight' between Ali and heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano. The idea fits perfectly into the age of space travel. Woroner will use a 'super computer', stacks of information and statistics to work out who would win in a fight between Ali and the long retired Marciano, a fighter...

1968 and America is a nation divided, violently driven apart on racial fault lines and the ongoing war in South East Asia that is claiming thousands of American lives. Against this background the USA will be shocked to its core with the deaths of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, brother of slain President John F Kennedy. Meanwhile Muhammad Ali, under the constant threat of imprisonment due to his stance on the Vietnam War, undertakes...

1967 - America is on the brink. Over 400,000 US troops are embroiled in a divisive war in South East Asia, while at home the counterculture, fuelled by new drugs, is taking hold. It's supposed to be the 'Summer of Love', but there are protests across the land about civil rights, women rights, ecological concerns, and, of course, the ongoing conflict in Vietnam. Meanwhile Muhammad Ali dominates the world heavyweight championship - undefeated, a colossus of world sport and one of the most...

Hip hop legend Nas takes you ringside, to the street and back in time to an event watched by over 300 million people that transcended sport and changed the world forever.