Linn Sandström: “Every time I was told no, I became even more determined to find another way.”

Linn Sandström: “Every time I was told no, I became even more determined to find another way.”

Earlier this month in New South Wales, Linn Sandström claimed the WBA interim flyweight title with a hard-earned points victory over Ruqsana Begum. For the 34-year-old, it is another successful chapter in her somewhat unlikely boxing career.

“Overall, I’m really happy,” Sandström told FightPost. “Of course, as a boxer you always go back afterwards and see things you could have done better, and I definitely know there is another level in me. But considering everything that happened during fight week, I’m incredibly proud of the performance.”

“I went in there with one goal, which was to become world champion, and I got the job done,” Sandström added. “There were moments where I had to really dig deep, stay disciplined and trust all the work we had done in camp. To finally hear my name announced as the winner and have that belt around my waist was a moment I’ll never forget.”

Sandström (13-4-4) referenced all that happened in fight week, and it was an illness that threatened to derail her big night. “I got really sick during fight week,” Sandström says. “It came on almost out of nowhere and felt like a really bad flu. I was completely blocked up, struggling to breathe properly and just feeling exhausted and run down.

“Fight week is already difficult because you’re cutting weight, your body is under stress, and you’re trying to conserve as much energy as possible, so getting sick on top of that definitely wasn’t ideal.”

“Yes,” Sandström replied when I asked if she had thought of pulling out of the fight. “But we had worked far too hard and sacrificed far too much to not get to that night.”

“Definitely,” Sandström added when I enquired if it had affected her performance against Begum. “I don’t think there’s any way it couldn’t have. My breathing wasn’t normal. My body wasn’t at 100%, and I didn’t have the same energy that I usually have. But once you’re in there, nobody cares what happened during fight week. Your opponent certainly doesn’t. You have to find a way.

“That’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of from the fight. Even when my body wasn’t giving me everything I wanted, mentally I refused to let it stop me.”

It’s been a long journey for Sandström. The Brazilian-born 34-year-old was once an international table tennis star who initially came to boxing to lose some weight. After turning professional in 2020, Sandström only managed one win in her first four fights. Her life is very different now.

“It’s massive,” Sandström says of her latest victory. “If you told me when I first walked into a boxing gym that one day I would become a professional world champion, I don’t know if I would have believed you. I didn’t come into boxing with this huge amateur career behind me,” Sandström added. “I didn’t have a big promoter building my career from the beginning. A lot of this journey has been self-funded, self-promoted and figuring things out just me and my coach and our small team as we went along. There have been losses, injuries, setbacks and plenty of people who probably thought I would never get there. That’s why the belt means so much more to me than just winning a fight. It represents every difficult moment that came before it.”

The early days were a struggle. In many ways, swimming against the tide. But she had a unique way of learning her trade, obviously, alongside the hours spent in the gym. Sandström used to contact promoters requesting media credentials. “It’s actually quite funny looking back at it now,” Sandström told me. “When I first started boxing, I was obsessed with learning. I wanted to be around the sport as much as possible. I used to email promoters asking for media passes and then turn up to boxing shows with my camera taking photographs. Obviously, I enjoyed photography, but the real reason was that it got me ringside.

“I wanted to sit as close as possible, watch the fighters, study what they were doing and understand professional boxing. At that stage I was basically trying to get into the building any way I could. Now I’m the fighter walking into the ring for a world title fight. That’s pretty crazy when I think about it.

After that unflattering start to her boxing life, Sandström has built a more than solid resume, including her most recent victory over Begum that earned her that WBA interim flyweight title.

“It’s definitely been a rollercoaster,” Sandström says of her career to date. “I’ve had incredible moments, but I’ve also had some very difficult ones. I’ve challenged for world titles before and fallen short. I’ve had injuries, close fights and moments where I’ve had to completely rebuild myself mentally. But I think that’s exactly what made this moment possible.

“Every setback forced me to improve something. Every loss taught me something. Every time I was told no, I became even more determined to find another way. I probably didn’t take the easiest route to becoming a world champion, but I wouldn’t change it because the journey made winning that belt mean so much more. But the story is not finished.”

As Sandström says, the journey isn’t over. There is more to achieve. Gabriela Fundora is the undisputed flyweight champion of the world, a fighter Sandström is interested in sharing a ring with.

“Winning this belt wasn’t the finish line for me,” Sandström told me. “It was the next step. I’ve spent so many years chasing the opportunity to call myself a world champion, and now that I’ve achieved that, the goals become even bigger. Fundora is obviously right at the top of that conversation, and that’s the level I’m chasing now. Becoming a world champion was the dream. Now I want to see how far we can take it.”