'Ruiz loss made Joshua gun-shy' - Malik King Scott

Anthony Joshua, according to Deontay Wilder's former WBC heavyweight champion Malik Scott, has become "gun-shy" after losing by knockout to Andy Ruiz in 2019.

Last Saturday night in London, Joshua made his ring comeback. He defeated Jermaine Franklin in twelve rounds by unanimous decision.

With the win, Joshua ended a two-fight losing streak in which he had lost consecutive decisions to Oleksandr Usyk.

Derrick James, the new head coach, was cornering Joshua, a former two-time heavyweight champion.

In his previous three fights, Joshua has had three different trainers. After the first defeat against Usyk, he broke off his relationship with career trainer Robert McCracken. and after the Usyk rematch, he distanced himself from Robert Garcia.

“He comes across as a little bit gun-shy," Scott told Boxing King Media. "Ever since he fought Ruiz, even when he has looked at his best, in my opinion against [Kubrat] Pulev and Ruiz II, those were still real tactical, safety-first victories for him.

“Ever since that [loss to Ruiz], he has been overthinking in the ring, for someone that big, someone that strong, that can be that imposing on his opponent, that is not a good thing. AJ is not a slick guy, he doesn’t punch a little bit hard, he punches very hard. He’s a fast guy, he’s actually known for being one of the latest heavyweights that puts their punches together very well.

"But why hasn’t he been putting punches together well in his last three, four fights against smaller opponents? It is not a physical thing, I don’t think it is a trainer thing, I think this is a mental thing.”

Can Joshua once again become the menacing puncher he once was?