Vinnie Jones reveals where former Sheffield United teammate Billy Whitehurst ranks in 'hard men' against likes of Roy Keane and Bryan Robson

Who would win in a fight between Billy Whitehurst and Vinnie Jones?

French's answer - along the lines of 'the pair would still be fighting now if they'd started in 1993' - perhaps sums the pair up perfectly.

But Jones clearly respects Whitehurst, who he calls 'Big Bad Billy', and his rather physical style of play. So much so that, in his EasyOdds column this week, he put Whitehurst above Roy Keane in his ranking of 'hard nuts'.

"On and off the pitch, Billy was different class," Jones wrote.

"To the honest Roy didn't make a lot of noise when I played him - I don't really remember a tackle. A fantastic footballer, yes, and a man I like and respect, but I’d have him well below Billy in the pecking order, and below Steve McMahon and Bryan Robson too.

"Billy might not have been in Bryan Robson’s class as a footballer - I’m not sure many are - but what a man. He wasn't for the faint-hearted and, if he was playing today, the suits at the FA might be getting their knickers in a twist about his antics.

"Billy is a tough-as-teak Yorkshireman, born and bred in South Yorkshire, and is still loved at Sheffield United. They talk about Yorkshire grit, well Billy put the G-R-I-T in that."

Jones wrote in his autobiography about an incident in Sheffield city centre, which saw Whitehurst fight a Wednesday fan after an altercation in a bar.

"He got around did Billy and played for a few other clubs, including Hull, where he had a couple of spells, and Doncaster," Jones added.

"But he was at Sheffield United when I was there, so it was fun around town with him - especially if we came across some Wednesday fans!

"He cleared out a pub of them once. You see, Billy could have been a bare-knuckle champion and I’m pretty sure had some bare-knuckle fights - maybe Guy Ritchie should have got him to be Brad’s stunt double in Snatch, eh Billy?!

"When I put together Vinnie’s Hard Men XI a few weeks back, Billy was up front alongside Fash and ‘Big Dunc’. Fashanu, Ferguson and Whitehurst is a forward line to put the fear of god in any defender - once you’d dragged them out of the toilet to play!"

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