Katie Taylor Remains Undefeated After Duel With Jennifer Han
In her latest professional battle, former Olympian and undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor (19-0, 6 KO’s) made a successful defense of her titles. In this affair, she was able to defeat talented challenger Jennifer Han (18-4-1, 1 KO) by way of unanimous decision. This was the second defense of her belts in 2021, as she overcame the very difficult Natasha Jonas just four short months prior. The win also marks the fourth defense of her quartet of titles.
Obviously the defeat, the fourth of her career, comes as a crushing blow to Han who dedicated the fight to her two sons. In fact, Han was just returning to the ring after a year and a half hiatus due to birthing her second son. The Texan has been clamoring for a big television fight for years, so naturally she is heartbroken to lose such an important prizefight.
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LACKLUSTER FIRST HALF
There was little notable action to report for the first several rounds as the naturally mobile Han made herself a difficult target to find. Taylor attempted to apply significant pressure but simply could not find the proper range or timing. As a result, the two combatants mainly traded jabs. Even more frustrating, when the pair of women were in striking range, they almost always wound up in a clinch and needed to be separated.
Ironically, the champion began finding a measure of success in the fourth round by allowing Han to take the lead. While both women landed more shots, Taylor scored with the more impactful blows. The seventh round was a bit difficult to score due to Han controlling well with her jab and movement during the first half of the period. Taylor was able to dominate the final minute of the round with her aggression and power shots.
FISTIC FINAL FINALE
The first truly notable sequence took place in the eighth round when Han went down to the canvas. After being force fed a solid two-piece, the Texan came off her feet. Han quickly leapt up and argued that their feet getting tangled was the reason that she went down. Fight replays did not support her claim.
The final round was a tad bitter-sweet. This is because this round is where the best action took place. Apparently, Han felt the knockdown would greatly affect the outcome and stood her ground throughout the period. This led to some nice exchanges. Naturally the viewing audience wished that this had taken place much earlier. Once the two women let their hands go, Taylor had the edge in power and clearly won the period. When the final decision was read, the champion was awarded a unanimous decision win having won every round on every scorecard.
By: Bakari Simpson
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