Viviane Obenauf

Last updated
Viviane Obenauf
Born (1986-10-25) 25 October 1986 (age 38)
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record [1]
Total fights20
Wins14
Wins by KO7
Losses6

Viviane Obenauf (born 25 October 1986) is a Brazilian former professional boxer who competed from 2014 to 2019. She has challenged three times for world titles; the IBO female lightweight title in 2017; the IBF female super featherweight title in 2018; and the IBO female super featherweight title in 2019. [2]

Contents

In 2022, Obenauf was convicted of murder in the violent assault of her 61-year-old husband. [3]

Professional career

Lightweight

Obenauf made her professional debut on 21 April 2014 at the EXPO Thun in Thun, Switzerland, scoring a four round unanimous decision victory over Amra Okugic. [4]

In her eleventh fight, with a record of 9–1 (2 KO), she faced former Olympic gold medalist Katie Taylor on 10 December 2016 at the Manchester Arena, Manchester, in Taylor's second professional bout. The fight was televised live on Sky Sports Box Office as part of the undercard for the Anthony Joshua vs. Éric Molina heavyweight world title fight. [5] Obenauf lost via points decision over six rounds. [6] 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. [7] [8]

Her next fight came on 25 March 2017, against Maja Milenkovic at the Congress Center in Interlaken, Switzerland. Obenauf won the fight with an eighth round technical knockout (TKO) to capture the vacant WBF International female lightweight title. [9] [10]

Three months later, she fought undefeated former WBO interim super featherweight champion Ewa Brodnicka on 24 June 2017, at the Ergo Arena in Gdańsk, Poland. Obenauf suffered the third defeat of her career, losing via split decision 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. [11]

After winning her next two fights, she then fought undefeated British prospect Chantelle Cameron on 2 December 2017, at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England, for the vacant IBO female lightweight title. Obenauf lost the fight via sixth round corner retirement (RTD) after Obenauf's corner withdrew her from the contest between rounds, suffering the first stoppage loss of her career. [12]

Super featherweight

Following the defeat to Cameron, Obenauf fought another undefeated British prospect in Natasha Jonas, for Jonas' WBA International female super featherweight title, on 4 August 2018 at the Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff, Wales. Obenauf scored an upset victory with a fourth round TKO. [13] 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. [14] [15]

In her next fight she challenged IBF female super featherweight champion Maïva Hamadouche on 4 December 2018 at Zénith de Paris-La Villette in Paris, France. Obenauf lost in her first challenge of a major world title via fifth round RTD. [16]

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 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 title fight between Christina Linardatou and Katie Taylor. [17] [18] Obenauf lost the fight via unanimous decision, with the judges' scorecards reading 97–93, 99–92 and 99–91. [19]

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. [20]

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. [21] In December 2022, Obenauf was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 16 years in prison. [22] She also received a 12-year ban from the country. Viviane Obenauf appealed against the verdict. [23] The appeal hearing before the Bern High Court took place in February 2024. The court upheld the murder conviction, increased the sentence to 18 years' imprisonment and extended the expulsion order to 14 years. In 2025, the Federal Supreme Court upheld the verdict in the final instance, making it legally binding. [24] She is serving her sentence in Hindelbank Prison. [25]

Professional boxing record

20 fights14 wins6 losses
By knockout72
By decision74
No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
20Loss14–6 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Terri Harper UD102 Nov 2019 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Manchester Arena, Manchester, EnglandFor IBO super featherweight title
19Win14–5 Flag of Poland.svg Monika AntonikUD627 Apr 2019 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Aula Interlaken, Interlaken, Switzerland
18Loss13–5 Flag of France.svg Maïva Hamadouche RTD5 (10), 2:004 Dec 2018 Flag of France.svg Zénith de Paris-La Villette, Paris, FranceFor IBF female super featherweight title
17Win13–4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Natasha Jonas TKO4 (10), 1:424 Aug 2018 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ice Arena Wales, Cardiff, WalesWon WBA International female super featherweight title
16Loss12–4 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chantelle Cameron RTD6 (10), 2:002 Dec 2017 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Leicester Arena, Leicester, EnglandFor vacant IBO female lightweight title
15Win12–3 Flag of Poland.svg Sylwia MaksymTKO5 (6)7 Oct 2017 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Bern, Switzerland
14Win11–3 Flag of Kenya.svg Consolata MusangaUD61 Jul 2017 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Kultur Casino, Bern, Switzerland
13Loss10–3 Flag of Poland.svg Ewa Brodnicka SD1024 Jun 2017 Flag of Poland.svg Ergo Arena, Gdańsk, Poland
12Win10–2 Flag of Serbia.svg Maja MilenkovicTKO8 (10)25 Mar 2017 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Congress Center, Interlaken, SwitzerlandWon vacant WBF International female lightweight title
11Loss9–2 Flag of Ireland.svg Katie Taylor PTS6 10 Dec 2016 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
10Win9–1 Flag of Poland.svg Karina KopinskaUD61 Oct 2016 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Kubus, Bern, Switzerland
9Win8–1 Flag of Poland.svg Klaudia SzymczakKO1 (6)9 Sep 2016 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Frestdorf des Alpes, Interlaken, Switzerland
8Win7–1 Flag of Poland.svg Bojana LibiszewskaUD427 Feb 2016 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Matteturnhalle, Bern, Switzerland
7Loss6–1 Flag of Italy.svg Vissia TrovatoUD67 Nov 2015 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Puestra Nuova, Ascona, Switzerland
6Win6–0 Flag of Serbia.svg Semra BogucaninTKO5 (6)30 May 2015 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Barensaal, Worb, Switzerland
5Win5–0 Flag of Greece.svg Kallia KourouniUD66 Apr 2015 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg EXPO Thun, Thun, Switzerland
4Win4–0 Flag of Bulgaria.svg Luchiya DonchevaTKO3 (6)26 Dec 2014 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Kursaal, Bern, Switzerland
3Win3–0 Flag of Hungary.svg Zsofia BedoKO2 (6)1 Nov 2014 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Matteturnhalle, Bern, Switzerland
2Win2–0 Flag of Poland.svg Bojana LibiszewskaUD49 Jun 2014 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Seminar Hotel Lueg, Burgdorf, Switzerland
1Win1–0 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Amra OkugicUD421 Apr 2014 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg EXPO Thun, Thun, Switzerland

References

  1. "Boxing record for Viviane Obenauf". BoxRec .
  2. "BoxRec: Viviane Obenauf". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  3. Donovan, Jake (2022-12-19). "Viviane Obenauf Sentenced To 16 Years Following October 2020 Murder In Switzerland". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  4. "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  5. "Katie Taylor vs. Viviane Obenauf on Joshua vs. Molina Card". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  6. "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  7. "Joshua vs Molina: Katie Taylor outpoints Viviane Obenauf in Manchester". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  8. "Katie Taylor: Irish boxer beats Viviane Obenauf in Manchester". 2016-12-10. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  9. "Obenauf WBF Champion, Outclasses Milenkovic". World Boxing Federation. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  10. "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  11. "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  12. "Chantelle Cameron Stops Viviane Obenauf, Wins IBO Crown". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  13. Foster, Elliot (2018-08-06). "Shock loss for Miss GB Jonas". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  14. "Cordina vs Dodd: Natasha Jonas shocked by Viviane Obenauf in Cardiff". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  15. "Viviane Obenauf Shocks Natasha Jonas With TKO in Four". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  16. "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  17. "Terri Harper signs with Matchroom, fights on Nov. 2". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  18. "Terri Harper signs with Matchroom Boxing and makes IBO World title defence against Vivian Obenauf". British Boxing News. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  19. "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  20. Donovan, Jake (5 December 2020). "Viviane Obenauf, Former Title Challenger, Arrested And Held In Connection With Husband's Death". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  21. Bissell, Tim (6 December 2020). "Boxer Viviane Obenauf arrested on suspicion of beating her husband to death". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  22. Donovan, Jake (19 December 2022). "Viviane Obenauf Sentenced To 16 Years Following October 2020 Murder In Switzerland". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  23. Patrick Mäder (28 January 2023). "Ich möchte meinem Sohn sagen, dass ich kein böses Mami bin". Blick .
  24. Sandro Benini: Boxweltmeisterin Viviane Obenauf bleibt im Gefängnis. In: Tages-Anzeiger, 29. Januar 2025, abgerufen am 30. Januar 2025.
  25. ‘'Behind bars: what prison does to people’' In: ‘'Rundschau’', August 27, 2025. From minute 33: Viviane Obenauf, accessed on September 1, 2025