The official CompuBox numbers from Anthony Joshua’s win over Jermaine Franklin have been released, and make for some interesting reading.
Joshua was awarded a wide unanimous decision victory by the three ringside judges at the O2 Arena on Saturday night, however his performance still received criticism from some observers.
Many were hoping ‘AJ’ would send a statement to the heavyweight division by knocking out Franklin, who went the distance with Dillian Whyte last November and has never been stopped before.
Whilst this is not how events unfolded, the punch statistics show it was a dominant display from the Brit nonetheless.
The jab was a key weapon for Joshua, with which he outlanded Franklin in every round of the contest and more than doubling the his tally for the fight as a whole, landing 57 to the American’s 21.
Although many criticised Joshua for not letting his hands go enough, he was relatively accurate when he did throw. The former world champion landed 117 of 376 shots thrown, translating as just over 30%. This was in stark contrast with Franklin, who only landed at a rate of 13.6%.
COMPUBOX FINAL STATS – Joshua W 12 Franklin #JoshuaFranklin@MatchroomBoxing …for more @CompuBox content, go to: https://t.co/X32c4rPP6Mpic.twitter.com/8Y28jqh9Nu
— CompuBox (@CompuBox) April 2, 2023
Though the fight did not play out how those backing Joshua may have hoped, the numbers do give cause for encouragement and belief that there can be further improvements under new trainer Derrick James.
The pair have only been working together for roughly ten weeks, after Joshua relocated to Dallas, Texas at the start of the year to work with James.
This looks most likely to come in the form of a rematch with old foe Dillian Whyte, who criticised Joshua’s performance whilst working as part of the DAZN broadcasting team.