TOUGHER TIE FOR KATIE
Next opponent will be a step up for Bray star
KATIE TAYLOR’S opponent on December 10 has been confirmed as Switzerland’s Viviane Obenauf and is expected to ask more questions of the Bray boxer who dominated her opening professional bout last weekend.
The 30-year-old lightweight impressed hugely on Saturday when stopping Karina Kopinska in three rounds, and progresses to an opponent who has a more convincing 9-1 record. Obenauf has also beaten Kopinska.
Obenauf has never been knocked out or stopped, her sole defeat coming on points against the undefeated Vissia Trovato of Italy in November 2015.
Next month’s fight will be Obenauf’s first contest outside of Switzerland, where the 30-year-old currently resides.
Their match-up will feature on the undercard of the higher-profile IBF heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Eric Molina.
“Saturday in London was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to fight in Manchester on December 10,” said Taylor. “Boxing in front of 21,000 is a new experience for me.”
“I was hoping for a first round knock-out to be honest, but that girl has only been stopped once before so it was a very good performance, but she wasn’t really up to much,” she added.
“I was expecting a tough six round battle and I was ready for that, but it was a privilege to be in there and I can’t wait for the next fight now.
“There was an awful lot of pressure on me. I had that in my mind. I had to be more aggressive over the last couple months with Ross. I have been boxing a lot better than I have done for a long time and I think it showed in there.
“Hopefully this is the start. The dream would be boxing for the world title in Dublin, that would be the dream.”