Josh Taylor has weighed in with his opinion on the current state of Anthony Joshua as a fighter.
Many were critical of Joshua’s performance in his comeback bout against Jermaine Franklin earlier this month, stating he still looked tentative following back to back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.
Speaking to ID Boxing, Taylor admitted that, although he had a degree of sympathy for ‘AJ,’ he agreed with that sentiment.
“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. 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.”
The Franklin fight was the former unified world champion’s first outing under new coach Derrick James, with whom he has been working in Dallas since the start of this calendar year.
There had been talk before contest at the 02 that a mammoth domestic dust up with Tyson Fury could be next, however Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has since said he would prefer his prized heavyweight have at least one more outing under James.
Fans may have to wait longer for this than expected, after Joshua claimed on social media recently that his next fight will not be until December.
Speculation has been rife amongst fans as to who this could be against, with some seemingly convinced that Joshua and old foe Deontay Wilder could finally meet in the ring in Saudi Arabia.