Jennifer Han retains title after beating Olivia Gerula at Haskins Center

Jennifer Han defender her IBF world featherweight championship belt for the third time Friday night at the Don Haskins Center after defeating Olivia Gerula by unanimous decision.

Han controlled the fight from start to finish, recording a knockdown in the fifth round against Canada’s Gerula.

Han, 33, seemed to be much more agile on her feet than the 37-year-old Gerula in making her title defense. Gerula, a former world champion herself, seemed to be confounded all night by Han’s agility and technique, despite declaring before the fight that she would “shake things up” and defeat the favored Han.

Gerula was found to be 1.5 pounds overweight in Thursday’s weigh-in, meaning even if she defeated Han, she would not have been eligible to claim her title.

All three of Han’s title defense matches have come in El Paso – two at the Haskins Center and one at Southwest University Park. Han also originally claimed her belt with a win at the Haskins Center.

Han proclaimed before the fight that she wanted to make a lasting impression on those watching so she could get a televised fight in the near future.

The fight got off to a late start Friday night and followed an absolute slugfest between Jose Felix, Jr. of Mexico and Jonathan Maicelo of Peru.

Maicelo won that fight via unanimous decisions after knocking down Felix five times during the bout. Felix entered as the third-ranked lightweight fighter in the world.