Conor Benn believes it would be 'disrespectful to everybody' if a fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua fails to materialise.
Talk of a possible clash between the two Britons has rumbled on for a number of years, only for the pair to fail to come to any agreement.
Fury insists he's got no interest in a return to boxing, with the 36-year-old hanging up his gloves earlier in the year.
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As for Joshua, the Watford-born star hasn't fought since being emphatically beaten by Daniel Dubois in September last year.
Conor Benn believes it would be 'disrespectful to everybody' if a fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua fails to materialise
|GETTY
Benn, speaking to Reece Mennie on his podcast, has now opened up on a possible clash between the pair.
He believes Fury would have the slight edge, but insists it would be a travesty if the pair were to retire without ever meeting in the ring.
"The fight has got to happen. It can’t not happen. It would seriously be so disrespectful to everybody if that fight did not happen," he said firmly.
"I don’t really want to sit on the fence. I just think Fury’s style could be all wrong for AJ, but then you can never write AJ off with the athleticism.
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"I think it’s now at a stage of who has got what left. I think it would mean more to AJ, but I don’t think you can ever write Fury off, but it depends on what Fury turns up.
"I would probably have to put my money on Fury."
Both Joshua and Fury have lost to Oleksandr Usyk in recent years.
Joshua was defeated by the Ukrainian in 2021, with Usyk becoming the new unified heavyweight world champion following his victory.
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Tyson Fury is currently retired from boxing after losing to Oleksandr Usyk for a second time in December
| REUTERSAs for Fury, the Gypsy King had been undefeated prior to the start of last year.
However, he was beaten by Usyk in May before failing to beat the same opponent in December.
In Benn's eyes, nobody compares to Usyk in the heavyweight division.
"I think Usyk beats every person the planet," he continued. "Usyk is like a computer that downloads the data, processes it and does what he needs to do with it."
Regarding a contest between Fury and Joshua, time appears to be running out.
Fury said earlier this week that he was 'too old' to return to the sport, despite mounting speculation of a 2026 comeback.
And Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, said back in June that 2026 was 'probably' the fighter's last year in the sport.
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Anthony Joshua has not fought since his defeat to Daniel Dubois in September | PA"Probably 2026 will be his last year in the sport," Hearn said.
"I mean you never know, but thinking about it, it's probably three fights away. If I'm advising AJ I'm thinking, 'We're back this year, two Tyson Fury fights, what else is there to do?'
"He maybe could fight a Daniel Dubois, but I think for me, once AJ fights a Tyson Fury, he's kind of done it all."