Linn Sandström: “So many people have doubted me in this sport, and here I am.”

Linn Sandström: “So many people have doubted me in this sport, and here I am.”

The story of Linn Sandström is already unique and quite extraordinary. Sandström was once an international table tennis star before she moved her entire life to Australia and found boxing. Although, in truth, it was boxing that found her. I’ve told her boxing story many times. An unflattering start to her professional career. Just one victory in her first four fights was a resume that didn’t really offer any hope of future success. That might sound harsh, but it is a cold, hard statistic. Not many fighters recover from a start like that. But Linn Sandström did. Sandström didn’t lose again for nearly three years. And that was in a world title fight. A defeat that came only nine months after rupturing her Achilles tendon. In many ways, Linn Sandström is a born fighter.

Sandström had four fights in 2024. A twelve months that was very much one of mixed fortunes for a fighter who was born in Brazil before settling in Sweden not long after. She had a win to start the year. Another to end it. The world title setback against Clara Lescurat in June was followed by a strange fight in Bangkok against the unbeaten Prakayrat Wongsuta. Initially announced as the loser of their six-round contest, before it was later changed to a majority draw. A beyond difficult away experience for Sandström. Feeling they had been robbed, protests were lodged, but nothing changed. But Sandström, as she does, just moved on.

“It was a very up-and-down year,” Sandström told me over Zoom. “But I am still happy after overcoming the injury. We kept fighting, and we ended the year with a win against Carla Camila Campos Gonzales in Sweden.”

Sandström will start 2025 with yet another title fight. She will head to Sydney next month to fight Yoselin Fernandez for the WBA Gold super-flyweight title. It was an opportunity that Sandström was originally scheduled to have late last year.

“I am fighting for the Gold title. I was actually supposed to fight for it in Sweden in October, but my opponent got injured, and that fight never happened. But we have got the opportunity again, and I am super excited for the fight. It’s a massive fight for me against a tough opponent. We are working really in camp for the fight.”

A win against the Venezuelan in Sydney could push Sandström to the brink of another shot at the world title. But the former world title challenger is just taking one fight at a time.

“I am not overlooking any fight like I have seen so many people do before,” Sandström relayed to me. “Every fight is important, and this is my only focus for now. But we’ll see where it takes me after the fight. But hopefully, it opens a lot of doors for me.”

After the serious injury to her Achilles in 2023, Sandström yet again showed her toughness and resilience. “Last year really made me,” Sandström says of that tough period. “I don’t think a lot of people would have been able to get through what I pushed through. I came into the gym and literally trained on a peg leg when I was injured. The doctors said it would be a year before I could get back in the ring, but after just six months, I fought in a ten-rounder. After nine months, I fought for a world title. I have a never-give-in attitude, and here I am with another massive opportunity ahead of me. It just goes to show what can happen if you never ever give up.

“So many people have doubted me in this sport, and here I am. I feel this will be the best version of myself going into this fight. I feel strong. I’m faster. I’m sharper. We have flown in sparring partners from overseas for this fight. I am mixing it up with some really good girls. I just love the process, but there is still so much more to give and so much more to learn. I think that’s what makes it exciting because I love the journey of boxing. I just love being part of this sport.”

Linn Sandström is all in. Maybe an unmatched dedication. Some might even label it an obsession. Boxing is her life. “It’s been seven years now. Literally non-stop. I have been living the life of a boxer for the last seven years. But I think that’s why my mind and my body are still so fresh. I don’t party. I don’t drink. I don’t do any of that stuff. All that takes a toll on your body. I feel so fresh, and I just love this life as a professional fighter.”

Sandström is an exception to the rule in many ways. While other female fighters struggled to get fights in 2024, she didn’t. While others struggled to find sponsors, including world champions, Sandström hasn’t. Something she puts down to sheer hard work. “Ever since I was a kid, I have been a hustler,” Sandström told FightPost. “I have always worked so hard for everything that has come my way. A lot of other people wait for others to do things for them. But that’s not me, I go out and work extremely hard for everything that comes my way. You can’t just sit on your hands thinking everyone else will do it for you and just think one day it might happen, you have to work hard for it.”

The world title experience last year won’t be the pinnacle in the career of Linn Sandström. Even in that unrewarding early part of her career, Sandström was dreaming of winning world titles. Nothing has changed. “I am number three with the WBA at the moment. It’s definitely these types of big fights I want to be involved in.” Sandström has been counted out many times in her career. An inspiring story already. All she needs now is that world title for that ultimate crowning moment. Don’t rule it out.