Linn Sandstrom: Within Touching Distance of a World Title

Linn Sandstrom: Within Touching Distance of a World Title

Linn Sandstrom has an interesting and unique life story. Born in Brazil, was adopted at 7 weeks and found herself in Sweden, and then finally settled in Australia. A degree in marketing, a former international table tennis player in Sweden, and she walked into a boxing gym on Bondi Beach just to lose some of the weight that she had accumulated since her days in her former sport. There was no interest in fighting. That soon changed.

When I first interviewed Sandstrom back in the early months of 2021, she told me:

“My main goal is to one day become a world champion.“

In truth, her words looked like nothing but a remote dream. A fantasy even. Sandstrom finished the year with only one win in four fights, two defeats and a draw left her boxing resume looking distinctly average. The claim of world titles looked fanciful at best.

But a year on, things have very much changed. Sandstrom is now riding a six-fight winning streak, world-ranked by the WBA in the super-flyweight division and is perhaps only a couple of fights away from a crack at a world title and making those words she uttered to me last year a reality.

It has been a quite remarkable transformation for Sandstrom. Last year ended with a hotly-disputed loss to Natalie Hills, but all her protests changed nothing. It was another setback and all the doubters she had at the start of her career, and make no mistake, there were many, looked to have been proven right. But if the boxing fraternity thought Sandstrom would go away, they would have been wrong.

Sandstrom never stopped believing in herself, and she is someone who lives and breathes her sport. Boxing is very much her life. Sandstrom worked at her craft, had fights in the Philippines, Costa Rica, Australia and the UK, at one stage there were three fights in twenty-one days in three different countries. As 2022 winds down Sandstrom has completely turned her career around. She might go under the radar by many, but when the comeback of the year awards are dished out, Sandstrom should be considered. And strongly.

“It’s been a massive year. Six fights. Six wins. Three belts.” A happy but bruised Sandstrom told me the morning after the win over Serbian Sara Marjanovic in London in October that had landed her the vacant WBA intercontinental title. Even the right eye which was swelling by the second, couldn’t change or hide the obvious pride and joy from her latest win.

Sandstrom has gone from the brink, to within touching distance of a world title. A big year awaits Sandstrom, training camps in America are already lined up, and the promise of big fights to follow. A remarkable story might be even more remarkable this time next year.