WORLD champion Josh Taylor claimed Anthony Joshua looked “scared of getting hit” during his fight with Jermaine Franklin.
AJ returned at the start of April with a conservative points victory over Franklin, his first win since December 2020.
It came off the back of two consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, which left Joshua fighting to revive his career.
And ex-undisputed light-welterweight champ Taylor reckons Joshua boxed like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
He told ID Boxing: “I felt bad for him, with the pressure and expectation.
“Having said that, I don’t think he looked that great. In terms of the “old” Joshua, that just wasn’t there.
READ MORE IN BOXING
“I thought he looked a little bit stiff and rigid, and a bit scared of getting hit and staying in the firing line to exchange punches.
“It might be the fact he’s getting used to his new surroundings and new coaches in America, that can take a little bit of time.”
Scotland’s Taylor, 32, returns in a WBO title defence against American Teofimo Lopez, 25, in New York on June 10.
Meanwhile Joshua, 33, is in talks for a super-fight in December in Saudi Arabia following victory over Franklin, 29.
Most read in Boxing
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023
And promoter Eddie Hearn hopes it will be against either Deontay Wilder, 37, or Tyson Fury, 34.
Hearn said to iFL TV: “For AJ, one thing’s for sure his big fight – and it will come in the Middle East – will be in December.
“And that will be Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder. That’s what we’re planning.
“I will be going out next week to meet people to discuss AJ’s fight in December.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
