Is Anthony Joshua's punch power overrated or Carlos Takam and Wlad Klitschko's chin

Is Anthony Joshua's punch power overrated or is Carlos Takam's & Wladimir Klitschko's punch resistance better than expected? Before Anthony Joshua boxed against Wladimir Klitschko, I kept reading on how Joshua was going to give Wladimir Klitschko his most devastating KO loss. And that Wladimir Klitschko had a glass jaw, close to the level of Amir Khan and that Joshua was going to be the most powerful knock out artist / power puncher he was about to face. It was a commonly held belief / notion by most boxing fans and a lot of them were Anthony Joshua fans or Wladimir Klitschko critiques / haters. Even before Joshua boxed against Carlos Takam, some were arguing how Takam wasn't going to last long and he was going to be beaten more convincingly by Joshua than how anybody else ever beat him. Those beliefs / notions were even a foregone conclusion to some. Basically thinking very highly of Joshua's abilities whilst thinking very lowly of his opponent's abilities. Yet, in reality, none of those events occurred. Carlos Takam was already brutally knocked out by Alexander Povetkin ( who is a natural cruiser weight at 6 foot 2, 220 pounds) that some believe has no chance at beating Joshua because of his lack of size. Yet, this much smaller Povetkin demolished Takam far more convincingly and cleanly than Joshua did, despite Joshua being significantly bigger in size. Proving how Joshua's bigger size isn't that relevant after all at winning bouts against smaller sized opponents convincingly. Joshua faced an older, a more faded version of Carlos Takam and barely came close to stopping him legitimately. Carlos Takam at times was walking right through Joshua's most powerful punches whilst showing very little signs that they had much knock-out potential at all whatsoever. Almost to the point where this little midget in Takam made it seem like this 6 foot 6, 250 pound giant in Anthony Joshua was hitting with the punching power of a 10 year old school girl that can barely even crack an egg. Anthony Joshua required a premature 'TYPICAL BRITISH / UK STOPPAGE' to maintain his misleading 100% knock out rate. Whilst against Wladimir Klitschko who was 41 years old with 2 years of inactivity. Anthony Joshua relied on landing endless sloppy combinations to drop Wladimir Klitschko. Whilst Wladimir Klitschko managed to drop Joshua cleanly with a single clean right hand. And after that, despite Joshua dropping Wladimir Klitschko two extra times, he still couldn't keep Klitschko down as Klitschko managed to get back up every time. Even after landing his best punch, Joshua still failed to keep Klitschko down and required follow up punches to drop Klitschko in the first place. And even the stoppage itself was premature. So is it a case of Joshua's punch power being overrated or his opponent's punch resistance being underrated and better than expected?

Comments (19)

He is Lethal in the opening rounds, but his power slowly decreases as the fight progresses. This is mainly due to how his technique deconstructs, and he becomes static and slightly amateurish! Still he is a dangerous puncher even under these physical circumstances......very Dangerous.

8y ago

Devils_Advocate

Except that he did carry his power through the late rounds when he stopped Klitschko late in the fight. That uppercut was ridiculous!!!

8y ago

Tom_Cruise

He certainly has power but at the end of his shots. I know he kept saying he wants to entertain the fans pre Takam, and it was close and inside fighting which doesn't suit him. Takam is pretty tough with his style. His face got cut up and he had a flash KD so AJ has power to do damage, but he can't generate it on the inside. AJ would have KO'd Stirvene IMO too. They guy was out of shape and didn't move... he didn't move to punch, he didn't move his legs, didn't move his body or head... Power is always questioned when someone lasts long. For example against Splkzka (sp) Wilder struggled due to the awkward style and movement... he eventually got the KO but didn't look great for most of it IMO. This is boxing though. When you get a KO early, people get all happy. When you go the distance your power is questioned. Sometimes at the top level, you simply can not KO someone because of their skills and durability... I think thats harsh considering he hurt and dropped both his world level opponents so far with tight hooks and uppercuts. I think he short shots are great. Maybe more mid range than inside but still

8y ago

boliodogs

Another negative thread by you trashing AJ. You already trashed him yesterday. Your poll is rigged with only the options you want. AJ has KOed everyone he ever fought. He KOed Molina in less than half the time it took Wilder to do it. You don't think AJ is a hard punching heavyweight because you are a boxing moron.

8y ago

HarvardBlue

So? Wladimir was badly gassed, a strong wind would've knocked him over. Remember this is an old, inactive Wlad we're talking about. He also has other mid to late round KO's. Which means he CAN carry it into later rounds. No?

8y ago

denium

Except that he did carry his power through the late rounds when he stopped Klitschko late in the fight. So? Wladimir was badly gassed, a strong wind would've knocked him over. Remember this is an old, inactive Wlad we're talking about.

8y ago

Ray

His power is definitely overrated, then again when you move up in competition then you would see a lot can take your power. Takam is a solid chin boxer, Wlad doesn't have a great chin but he can hold his own especially against a novice like Joshua. This is why i think the Parker fight is a dangerous fight for him.

8y ago

deansluk

one punch power overrated , anybody in the top 20 has give him rounds , wlad , whyte , brezeale and takam , charles martin and molina literally were bodybags there for a cheque , hard to give credit when they both did there best michael spinks vs tyson impression

8y ago

STREET_CLEANER

klitschko fought a smart fight, his tactics were sound, age and ring rust caught up with him and joshua got his second wind which is why he won I feel many people don't really know how durable an opponent takam is, he also presented a difficult style for joshua as he was elusive enough to not get hit flush very often joshua's power is pretty good, I'd say on the level of Lennox Lewis, but he has only just recently been put against top opposition so my opinion might change AJ has power but Lenox's right hand was a legit weapon

8y ago

PANDA

8y ago

STREET_CLEANER

His power is over rated by some. He does have sharp fast combos and counters that are his bread and butter when he gets the other guy in trouble. He does have power and is obviously a strong fighter.

8y ago

dan_cov

His power is overrated that's not to say he can't punch any able 250lb body has power that and Wladimirs chin has always been a little underrated. Takam on the other hand is just your typical tough as hell African. You can tell just by looking at him you'd need a sledgehammer to put him away even then you'd no doubt just end up exhausted from swinging it.

8y ago

HarvardBlue

He's strong and can punch, but doesn't seem to carry his power through to the mid-late rounds, probably because he's gassed by the 4th. Except that he did carry his power through the late rounds when he stopped Klitschko late in the fight.

8y ago

Schmerzen

that uppercut vs klitschko alone is proof enough he can punch

8y ago

Mike_Dog

he always looks strong in the early rounds but his power diminishes as he starts to tire, it has been as early as the 4th round. If he dropped a bit of muscle and improved his stamina he would be unstoppable, at the moment he is beatable... Will it be Parker? It's possible.

8y ago

Rubber_Ducky

Joshua has that heavy handed, clubbing type of power like Foreman. Foreman didn't score many one punch KO's either but nobody doubts his power. Joshua isn't fast, doesn't have that snap in his shots like Wlad or Wilder but his shots have a lot of weight behind them, they will physically move you and he'll break down guys with that power.

8y ago

denium

He's strong and can punch, but doesn't seem to carry his power through to the mid-late rounds, probably because he's gassed by the 4th.

8y ago

Redd_Foxx

Aj is no doubt very strong, but I think people overrate his power a bit. He's like Golovkin in that he doesn't necessarily have great 1-punch power, but his technique is good and he's able to put guys away with several clean shots.

8y ago

PensionKiller

8y ago