Second professional bout comes along quickly for Katie Taylor after win

Irish boxer will take on Viviane Obenauf on undercard of men’s world heavyweight clash

Ireland’s five-time amateur world champion Katie Taylor will face Viviane Obenauf in the second professional boxing outing of her career, having won her first bout in stunning style on Saturday at London’s SSE Wembley Arena by stopping Poland’s Karina Kopinska.

The Irish Olympic gold medallist at London 2012 will fight on the undercard of British world IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s title defence on December 10th in the Manchester Arena, in front of a sellout crowd of 21,000.

Obenauf enters the bout having beaten Kopinska in Switzerland in her last clash in October. The 30-year-old promises to provide a stiffer examination of Taylor’s credentials at world title level. She is not undefeated, however, having lost to the featherweight world champion, Italy’s Vissia Trovato, last month – the only loss in her 9-1 record.

Obenauf beat Kopinska on a unanimous decision on October 1st in Berne, Switzerland, where all of her professional outings have taken place so far. This will be the first time she has fought in Britain, or outside Switzerland.

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The same age as Taylor, Obenauf lives in Birsfelden and will arrive at the Manchester Arena with a reputation as something of a puncher, with a number of her wins coming from KOs.

“Saturday in London was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to fight in Manchester on December 10,” said Taylor. “No performance is ever perfect, but I’ve been working hard with Ross [Enamait] in the States and I think things are really coming together.

“Boxing in front of 21,000 is a new experience for me, and I’m looking forward to the next step of the journey and hoping to entertain the fans at the Manchester Arena and watching live on Sky Sports Box Office.”

The Irish champion’s second professional fight against Obenauf is part of a huge night of action in Manchester as Joshua defends his IBF world heavyweight title against Eric Molina.

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson is a sports writer with The Irish Times