Viviane Obenauf (born 25 October 1986) is a Brazilian former
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 2014 to 2019. She has challenged three times for world titles; the
IBO female
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight boxe ...
title in 2017; the
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
female
super featherweight
Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight division in professional boxing, contested between and .
The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although firs ...
title in 2018; and the IBO female super featherweight title in 2019.
Professional career
Lightweight
Obenauf made her professional debut on 21 April 2014 at the EXPO Thun in
Thun
, neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg
, twintown =
, website = www.thun.ch
Thun (french: Thoune) ...
, Switzerland, scoring a four round
unanimous decision
A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighter ...
victory over Amra Okugic.
In her eleventh fight, with a record of 9–1 (2 KO), she faced former Olympic gold medalist
Katie Taylor
Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer. She is a two-weight world champion and the current undisputed lightweight champion, having held the WBA title since 2017; the IBF title since 2018; and the ...
on 10 December 2016 at the
Manchester Arena
Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights s ...
,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, in Taylor's second professional bout. The fight was televised live on
Sky Sports Box Office
Sky Box Office is Sky Limited, Sky's pay-per-view (PPV) system operated in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There were three branded divisions of Sky Box Office – Sky Cinema Box Office, Sky Sports Box Office and Sky 3D Box Office. Until 1 Febru ...
as part of the undercard for the
Anthony Joshua vs. Éric Molina
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
world title fight. Obenauf lost via points decision over six rounds. Obenauf attempted to establish herself as the aggressor from the opening bell, but the former Olympic champion used her defence to evade Obenauf's attacks and began stalking her around the ring while staying behind the jab, fighting in spurts and landing combination punches to the head and body. In the second round, Obenauf touched the canvas as the result of a counter left hook, but immediately rose to her feet to protest the referee scoring a knockdown. Obenauf had a moment of success in the third, catching Taylor with a right hook and a straight left that sent her opponent stumbling off-balance. In the fourth, Obenauf was on the receiving end of Taylor’s sharp jabs and fast combinations. Taylor began landing her speedy combinations with more frequency in the fifth, a round which saw Obenauf receive a cut above the left eye from an accidental clash of heads. A bloodied Obenauf saw out the final bell in round six to receive the second defeat of her professional career.
Her next fight came on 25 March 2017, against Maja Milenkovic at the Congress Center in
Interlaken
, neighboring_municipalities= Bönigen, Därligen, Matten bei Interlaken, Ringgenberg, Unterseen
, twintowns = Scottsdale (USA), Ōtsu (Japan), Třeboň (Czech Republic)
Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and mun ...
, Switzerland. Obenauf won the fight with an eighth round
technical knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
(TKO) to capture the vacant WBF International female
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight boxe ...
title.
Three months later, she fought undefeated former
WBO interim
An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities.
Interim may also refer to:
Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept)
*Provis ...
super featherweight
Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight division in professional boxing, contested between and .
The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although firs ...
champion
Ewa Brodnicka
Ewa Brodnicka (born 7 June 1984) is a Polish former professional boxer and current MMA fighter who held the WBO female junior-lightweight title from 2018 to October 2020. At regional level she held the European female lightweight title from 201 ...
on 24 June 2017, at the
Ergo Arena
Ergo Arena (Hala Gdańsk-Sopot) is a multi-purpose indoor arena, that was opened in 2010. The boundary between two cities – Sopot and Gdańsk – runs through the very middle of the hall. The arena has a capacity of 11,409 people, for sports e ...
in
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
, Poland. Obenauf suffered the third defeat of her career, losing via
split decision
A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor.
A split dec ...
over ten rounds, with two judges scoring the bout 96–93 and 95–94 in favour of Brodnicka while the third scored it 95–94 to Obenauf.
After winning her next two fights, she then fought undefeated British prospect
Chantelle Cameron
Chantelle Cameron (born 14 May 1991) is a British professional boxer. She is a world champion in two weight classes and the current undisputed light-welterweight champion, having held the WBC title since 2020; the IBF and ''Ring'' magazine tit ...
on 2 December 2017, at the
Leicester Arena
The Leicester Arena, known for sponsorship reasons as the Morningside Arena Leicester, is a multi-purpose built sports arena located in Leicester, England. The arena has a seating capacity for 3,000 spectators. The arena's main tenants are the b ...
in
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, England, for the vacant
IBO female lightweight title. Obenauf lost the fight via sixth round
corner retirement
A corner retirement or corner stoppage – abbreviated "RTD (Retired)" by BoxRec – are terms used in boxing to describe a fight that ends when, during any rest period between rounds, a boxer refuses to continue or their corner pulls them out, t ...
(RTD) after Obenauf's corner withdrew her from the contest between rounds, suffering the first stoppage loss of her career.
Super featherweight
Following the defeat to Cameron, Obenauf fought another undefeated British prospect in
Natasha Jonas
Natasha Jonas (born 18 June 1984) is a British professional boxer who has held the WBO female junior-middleweight title since February 2022. Since September 3rd 2022 she has held the WBC female super-welterweight title. Since November 12th 2 ...
, for Jonas'
WBA International female super featherweight title, on 4 August 2018 at the
Ice Arena Wales
Ice Arena Wales (IAW) ( cy, Canolfan Iâ Cymru) is an ice hockey rink in the Cardiff International Sports Village in Cardiff, Wales. It opened on 12 March 2016, and has two ice rinks and seating for 3,088 spectators.
It is home to the Cardi ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, Wales. Obenauf scored an upset victory with a fourth round TKO. Obenauf came out swinging from the opening bell, smothering the former Olympian with combinations to the head and landing a few clean, straight right hands. Jonas came back in the second, landing her own clean punches. In the final 40 seconds of round three, following an onslaught by Obenauf which culminated in a straight right hand, Jonas was dropped to the canvas. After seeing her opponent struggle back to her feet before the referee's count of ten, Obenauf unleashed a barrage of punches on Jonas, again ending with a right hand to put the British fighter down for a second time. Obenauf came out in the fourth employing the same tactics, walking Jonas down and throwing big shots. Halfway through the round, Obenauf landed another big right hand to put Jonas down for the third time. With Jonas' back against the ropes, Obenauf landed a right-left combination that caused her opponent's legs to buckle, with the referee on the verge of intervening. Obenauf landed another left hook that made Jonas sag into the ropes, at which point referee Michael Alexander stepped in and waved off the fight as Jonas' trainer
Joe Gallagher threw in the towel with 18 seconds of the round remaining.
In her next fight she challenged
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
female super featherweight champion
Maïva Hamadouche
Maïva Hamadouche (born 4 November 1989) is a French professional boxer and police officer who held the IBF female super-featherweight title from 2016 to November 2021. At regional level, she held the French female lightweight title in 2014 and ...
on 4 December 2018 at
Zénith de Paris-La Villette in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France. Obenauf lost in her first challenge of a major world title via fifth round RTD.
After defeating Monika Antonik in April 2019 via unanimous decision over six rounds, Obenauf challenged for her second super featherweight world title against reigning champion
Terri Harper
Terri Harper (born 2 November 1996) is a British professional boxer and current WBA and IBO Super-Welterweight champion. She is also the former super-featherweight world champion, having held the IBO female title from 2019 to November 2021 ...
on 2 November 2019 at the Manchester Arena, with the IBO title on the line. The fight was on the undercard of the
WBO super lightweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
title fight between
Christina Linardatou
Christina Linardatou Durán (born 4 March 1988) is a Greek professional boxer. She is a two-time WBO female junior-welterweight champion, having held the title since 2020, and previously in 2019. She also challenged once for the WBC female ligh ...
and
Katie Taylor
Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer. She is a two-weight world champion and the current undisputed lightweight champion, having held the WBA title since 2017; the IBF title since 2018; and the ...
. Obenauf lost the fight via unanimous decision, with the judges' scorecards reading 97–93, 99–92 and 99–91.
Life after boxing
After losing to Terri Harper in November 2019, Obenauf retired from boxing. Following her retirement she briefly worked in the food and beverage industry before opening her own gym in Switzerland.
In December 2020, she was arrested in connection with the death of her 61-year-old husband who was found dead in their Swiss home after allegedly being the victim of a "sustained violent assault", suffering "serious injuries" caused by a blunt object. In December 2022, Obenauf was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 16 years in prison. She also received a 12-year ban from the country. Viviane Obenauf appealed against the verdict.
[Patrick Mäder]
''«Ich möchte meinem Sohn sagen, dass ich kein böses Mami bin».''
In: ''Blick.ch'', 28. Januar 2023.
Professional boxing record
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obenauf, Viviane
Living people
1986 births
Sportspeople from Rio de Janeiro (city)
Brazilian women boxers
Super-featherweight boxers
20th-century Brazilian women
21st-century Brazilian women