Katie Taylor brought her professional tally to 19 wins in 19 outings when she won by unanimous decision against Jennifer Han over 10 rounds in the Headingly Stadium in Leeds.
Taylor had her four lightweight belts on the line, although, not at any stage did she look like they might be in jeopardy, controlling the occasionally rough fight from beginning to end.
Han turned out to be a harder opponent than she looked on paper and although using her busy left jab to try to keep Taylor at distance, the Irish boxer was solidly getting though and scoring from the outset.
It wasn’t a totally dominant 10 rounds from Taylor but in the rough and tumble of the bout she won every one, sometimes scoring single shots and as the fight progressed, more combinations began arriving as Han tired.
In the eighth round Han was put down and although she disputed that it was a result of a Taylor blow, claiming her feet became tangled, Liverpool referee Mark Lyson judged it as a knock down and gave the Texan a standing count.
While Taylor was unable to end the bout before the 10 rounds, all of the judges gave her the fight 100-89.
“I knew coming into the fight there was no room for complacency. I knew that girl was going to be a big challenge,” said Taylor afterwards. “I was hoping for a stoppage tonight but she’s very crafty, very slippery.”
The win takes 35-year-old Taylor’s professional record to 19-0 with six KO’s.
