Win or go home: Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua should retire if he loses rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr.

Former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has piled the pressure on fellow former champ Anthony Joshua, saying if the Olympic gold medallist cannot defeat Andy Ruiz Jr. in a rematch, he should hang up his gloves.

In an extended sit-down interview with IFL TV, Fury said Joshua had suffered significant reputational damage during his defeat to Ruiz, and that he needs to get back to the gym in a bid to re-establish himself as a world-class heavyweight again.

"He has to get a couple of wins under his belt and convince the public that he's a fighting man again," he said.

"Go to school, learn what to do again. Get a bit of mental coaching, and that's it - try and make a comeback."

That comeback looks almost certain to see Joshua face an immediate rematch with Ruiz, who dropped him four times en route to a sensational seventh-round TKO victory in one of the biggest shocks in heavyweight boxing history.

Joshua is expected to activate the rematch clause in his contract and face Ruiz in a rematch later in the year. And Fury stated that if his fellow countryman fails for a second time, he might as well hang up his gloves.

"If he can't make a comeback, if he can't beat Andy Ruiz Jr., you ain't going to do anything to Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder or any other decent heavyweight in the world, either," he said.

"If he can't beat Ruiz in the rematch he's done, finished, goodnight, bye-bye.

"If he can't beat Ruiz in the rematch he needs to retire, simple as. Forget about it. Give it up.

"He's done well out of it, he's earned a few quid, he's won a world title before and everything else that goes with it. So fair play to him."

Fury is set to face similarly unfancied Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas this weekend knowing a similar slip-up would be catastrophic for his own world title hopes.

And after suggesting Joshua should retire if he loses his rematch to Ruiz, Fury has pledged to do the same if he loses to Schwarz, then fails again in a rematch.

"If I can't beat Tom Schwarz, then I'll retire too, so that will make two bums retired won't it?" he said.

"If I lost to Andy Ruiz, I'd retire. And if I lose to Tom Schwarz I'll retire too. I'll have the rematch first and if I lose again I’ll 100% retire.

"I won’t delude myself and say it’s a mental issue or whatever. I’ll retire, I’ll be a man and say, 'Listen, fair play, Tom Schwarz is a beast'.

"But I don’t see that happening because I don’t sh*t myself when I get into a boxing ring."