Linn Sandström: A Story of Perseverance

Linn Sandström: A Story of Perseverance

Linn Sandström had a beyond difficult start to her boxing career. Sandström was once an international table tennis star. But if Sandström thought that success would be immediately replicated in her new sport, she would be immensely disappointed. Sandström turned professional in 2020, but her first four fights only gave the Brazilian-born Sandström one win. The signs were not good. But the Linn Sandström story is very much one of perseverance, and next month in Florida, she will get her second opportunity at winning a world title against the WBA world super-flyweight champion Jasmine Artiga.

Sandström lost her professional debut on points to Jessica Cashman, and while she got off the mark next time out with a unanimous points decision over Felicity Loiterton, Sandström could only manage a draw and a defeat in her next two fights. Talk of a fighting for world titles would have been brandished as delusional. But Sandström always believed her fortunes would change. And they did.

After losing to Natalie Hills in 2021, Sandström didn’t lose again until her maiden world title fight against Clara Lescurat in 2024. Eight fights without suffering another reversal earned Sandström that opportunity, and while Lescurat was a little too much for her in Sydney last year, Sandström is back again on the world stage.

“So many people have doubted me in this sport, and here I am,” Sandström told me earlier this year. It is an unlikely story. It could yet have that crowning moment.

Artiga is unbeaten in fourteen fights, and the American will be defending her WBA bauble for the first time since she won the title courtesy of a wafer-thin points decision over Regina Chavez earlier this year. Sandström, the number one contender, could give Artiga an even tougher night.

Sandström (10-3-3) seems to be in a much better place than she was last year. The fight with Lescurat came just nine months after rupturing her Achilles tendon. In many ways, it just came a little too soon for the 33-year-old. But with the experience gained from her defeat to Lescurat, Sandström will head to Florida with plenty of hope that it will be second time lucky for a fighter who has now found a home in Australia.

I first interviewed Sandström in September 2021. Her record back then was a distinctly unflattering 1-1-1, but even then, she told me, “My main goal is to one day become a world champion.” The odds then looked slim. They look a whole lot shorter now.