Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre believes Roy Keane would get the better of Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira in a boxing ring.
The two iconic Premier League midfielders were known for their combative feuds whenever the bitter rivals came up against each other.
One famous incident took place off the pitch before the Gunners’ clash against United at Highbury in 2005, where Keane confronted the ex-France international over something said in the tunnel.
After referee Graham Poll had stepped in between the pair, the Irish midfielder shouted ‘we’ll see out there’. The mind games may have worked, as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side came out as 4-2 winners.
Shedding some light on the situation, Silvestre told the Talk Of The Devils podcast: ‘It’s a small tunnel, players are shoulder to shoulder, and I think Patrick went past Gary and he said “you have a big mouth when you are with your team so I want to take you on 1v1 outside, me and you”.
‘So Roy Keane as a good captain defended Gary and said “if you want to take it to my player take it to me”, but there was also some French vocabulary in the conversation.’
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When asked who would win in a boxing fight between the two, Silvestre said: ‘Maybe because we did some boxing Roy would have an advantage.
‘We had a fitness coach that came in my third season at United and he was good at lifting and also boxing, Mike Clegg.
‘With Mike we would do some boxing so Roy was pretty good at it, [Ryan] Giggsy and then Wayne [Rooney].
‘A lot of the players would enjoy making a one minute round, two, three rounds after training, it’s good for upper body and coordination.’
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