JOE JOYCE said Anthony Joshua has "changed" since defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr - and believes his British rival is ducking him because of it.
AJ was stopped in seven rounds by Ruiz in June 2019 but reformed his style to win their rematch on points six months later.
Since then, Joshua, 33, has suffered consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, 35, and has not returned since.
A summer rematch against Dillian Whyte, 34, who AJ beat in 2015, has been teased by promoter Eddie Hearn.
And unbeaten contender Joyce, 37, reckons that is the fight to reveal what Joshua has left.
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He told iD Boxing: “He’s not gun shy but he’s apprehensive about being knocked out because he’s been knocked out a few times.
"He prefers to be on the back foot and out of danger. It will tell when we see the rematch with him and Dillian Whyte.
“In the Dillian Whyte fight, he was getting hit with big shots, he was wobbling on his feet but was still coming forward.
"Something obviously changed after the Ruiz loss but he’s still a good fighter and there’s plenty of interesting fights for him and I’d like to fight him as well.”
Joshua is expected to return by April against a top 15 rated contender before a rematch with Whyte follows.
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Hearn has also named Tyson Fury, 34, and Deontay Wilder, 37, as end of year blockbuster bouts for AJ.
Although Joyce - the mandatory challenger for Usyk's belt - was not listed in the mix of opponents.
He said: “It’s not a surprise because when does Joshua mention my name?
"Apart from when I was in the Olympics, soon as I turned pro, he didn’t mention my name or Eddie Hearn."
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