By CompuBox

In hindsight, it was fitting that HBO showed Vitali Klitschko’s 10th round TKO over Chris Arreola immediately after the replay of Floyd Mayweather’s pasting of Juan Manuel Marquez. Both bouts weren’t competitive fights but rather virtuoso displays of dominance over celebrated but ultimately limited opponents.

Just as Mayweather piled up incredibly lopsided numbers against the courageous but out-sized Marquez, so did Klitschko against the brave but out-skilled Arreola. Consider:

* Klitschko averaged 80 punches per round – far above the heavyweight average of 46.1 – while also limiting Arreola to just 33 per round. In all Klitschko was 301 of 802 (38 percent) to Arreola’s 86 of 331 (26 percent).

* Klitschko’s offensive success was startlingly diversified as 150 of his connects were jabs while 151 were power punches. One positive for Arreola is that he limited Klitschko’s jab to 29 percent accuracy (150 of 519) but that success was negated by the champ’s 53 percent marksmanship in power punches (151 of 283).

* Klitschko thwarted Arreola’s aggression-based blueprint with excellent movement that allowed him to maintain his preferred distance at all times. Arreola’s failure to establish a foothold inside is illustrated by the fact that 67 percent of his total punches were jabs (62 of 224) instead of power punches (24 of 107). The champion’s mobility forced the shorter-armed Arreola to vainly jab his way inside instead of whaling away at the body with both hands along the ropes. The vast majority of Arreola’s power connects were rights to the body during the bout’s relatively few clinches.

* As is his practice, Klitschko set the stage for the beating to come by starting quickly. In the first two rounds he out-landed Arreola 77-17 overall, 48-14 in jabs and 29-3 in power punches. Though Arreola never stopped charging in he tasted an inordinate amount of leather round after round while inflicting little damage himself. Klitschko never dipped below 20 total connects in any round while Arreola reached double-digit connects in just three rounds (the second, sixth and eighth). Klitschko’s high water mark in connects was 43 in round two while Arreola’s was 13 in the eighth.

* Klitschko’s numerical gaps were exacerbated by his superior precision in power punches. The champ never fell below 40 percent in that category and exceeded the 50 percent level seven times, with his peak being 68 percent in round two (21 of 31). As for Arreola, he reached the 40 percent level twice in rounds five and six but that is deceptive because he threw just seven and 11 punches respectively. When Arreola was fresh, he only managed to launch 38 power shots in the first four rounds, landing just six for an anemic 16 percent. By the fifth, Arreola’s fate was sealed and the only question was how much more punishment he was willing to absorb. As it turned out, he wanted to go all 12 rounds but wiser heads – referee John Schorle and chief second Henry Ramirez – ultimately prevailed.

A tearful Arreola apologized to his supporters during the post-fight interview and hopefully he will not allow the weight of disappointing his fans affect him as it did Gerry Cooney following his gallant challenge of Larry Holmes in June 1982. Like “Gentleman Gerry,” the “Nightmare” was simply beaten by a master craftsman who was enjoying a very good night on the job.

Arreola can take solace that his willingness to carry on never yielded in the midst of a beating that would have broken the toughest of men far sooner. Will Arreola come back? Only he knows for sure, but for boxing’s sake let’s hope this glib and passionate man will choose to stay in the game and make another run toward the top. As for the man – or men – at the top, Saturday night’s performance only served to solidify their grip on boxing’s glamour division and it looks like that will be the case for as long as they wish.