By CompuBox
In his last 4 fights Anthony Joshua threw/landed slightly above heavyweight average. for total punches (18.2 landed/49.2 thrown and landed above avg. with his jab- 7.3 per round), while opponents landed half the heavyweight average in all CompuBox Categories. A testament to Joshua's power or lack of quality opposition - or both?
Wladimir Klitschko on the other hand never really was (aside from early in his career, the Mercer fight and the first few rounds vs. Brewster) and definitely is no longer an offensive dynamo. Yes, he's amassed a +10.6 plus/minus rating in his last 14 fights and landed 8.7 jabs per round (#3 on CompuBox Categorical Leaders).
Did you know? Wladdy shares the heavyweight record for jabs landed in a round, 38 (vs. Hasim Rahman in round three) with his brother Vitali, who also landed 38 jabs in the first round of his win over Ed Mahone.
It's Wladdy's dependence on that jab and lack of power punching that raises questions. 66% of Wladimir's thrown punches per round are jabs (28.9 of 43.8 per round)- that's 24.5% higher than the CompuBox average of 41.5% (23.1 of 55.6) and #1 on the CompuBox Categorical Leaders list. Also #1: a whopping 60.4% of his landed punches are jabs (8.7 of 11.4)- 32% higher than the CompuBox avg. (4.8 of 16.9) and 14.2% higher than #2 Mikey Garcia at 46.2% (6.7 of 14.5).
Then there's his lack of power punching: Wladimir landed just 5.7 power shots per round - lowest total for any fighter on CompuBox Cat. Leaders list and threw just 14.9 per round - also the lowest total for any fighter on CompuBox Cat. Leaders list. (Heavyweight.average: 10 of 24.3). What happens if Joshua takes away Wladdy's jab?
