Roy Keane showed his Irish pride on this week's episode of Stick to Football, as he put Katie Taylor's name in the hat during a discussion on the greatest sports personalities of all time.
The conversation kickstarted when Ian Wright made a reasonable shout that the accolade of "the greatest" belonged to the man who so famously bestowed that nickname upon himself, Muhammad Ali.
Keane concurred, saying that Ali was one of the only people he would have been tempted to ask for a photograph.
He was getting an award [at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1999] and we won with [Manchester] United.
I was sitting...he was literally [as close] as here to that wall there. I thought, 'if you're going to get a photo...' I'm not one for chasing photographs.
When it finished, everyone was around him and he wasn't well at that time, so I just left him to it.
Few would argue if the name of Muhammad Ali was suggested as the sporting GOAT.
Nonetheless, the Overlap panel went on to debate some of the other names who belonged alongside the great American boxer. Keane would throw the name of fellow Irish hero Katie Taylor among some of the most storied in the world of sport.
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Roy Keane gives Katie Taylor shoutout on 'The Overlap'
The debate begins at 53:25.
On this week's episode of Stick to Football with Sky Bet, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Gary Neville, and Jill Scott debated the names that belong in the esteemed company of Muhammad Ali as the Greatest Sports Personality of All-Time.
The list of names put forward was nothing short of sensational.
Tiger Woods. Pelé. George Best. Serena Williams. Roger Federer. Michael Jordan. Michael Schumacher. Jack Nicklaus. Ayrton Senna.
It was after all of those decorated names were thrown about that Roy Keane put forward Katie Taylor as an option for her influence on the world of boxing.
Roy Keane: "Boxing, female, Katie Taylor's huge at the moment, you must admire her."
Jill Scott: "She's brilliant."
Ian Wright: "Fantastic. Great, she's fantastic.
Though the panel were in unanimous agreement on Muhammad Ali as the GOAT for his unmatched influence, the admiration for Katie Taylor was clear from every panelist.
The 2012 Olympic champion is certainly in the discussion to be Ireland's sporting GOAT and, when her influence on women's boxing as a world sport is taken into account, she has more than earned her right to be mentioned in the same light as the global greats.
Keane's praise for Taylor will be much appreciated. The legendary boxer has spoken in the past of her idolisation of Keane as a child, and said that a phone call from the ex-Manchester United captain helped her deal with the disappointment of being eliminated from the 2016 Olympics.
You'd be hard pressed to find any Irish sports fans who don't have Roy Keane and Katie Taylor high on their list of the country's greatest sportspeople, and their mutual appreciation of each other is wonderful to see.
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