COMBAT SPORTS
NM boxer Lindenmuth fights ex-sparring partner for title
Bosque Farms' Katherine Lindenmuth faces El Paso's Nayeli Rodriguez on Saturday for the WIBA flyweight championship.
Sparring sessions in boxing are a bit like 鈥渇riendly鈥� matches in soccer. More than winning, the object is getting better for the real tests to come.
When Bosque Farms鈥� Katherine Lindenmuth sparred with El Paso鈥檚 Nayeli Rodriguez late last year, Lindenmuth was preparing for a fight against Angelina Lukas in Egypt. Rodriguez was getting ready to face Diana Laura Fernandez in the latter鈥檚 hometown of Juarez.
鈥淪parring is work, and we鈥檙e very professional,鈥� Lindenmuth said this week in a phone interview. 鈥淲e鈥檙e friends outside of the sport.鈥�
Saturday night in El Paso, they鈥檒l trade blows again.
It won鈥檛 be a friendly.
Rodriguez (7-1-1, no knockouts) and Lindenmuth (8-5-1, three KOs) are scheduled for 10 rounds with the Women鈥檚 International Boxing Association flyweight title at stake.
As has often been the case during Lindenmuth鈥檚 four-year, two-month pro career, she鈥檒l be the visiting team on Saturday. Not only is Rodriguez from El Paso, she鈥檚 under contract to Marshall Kauffman, promoter of the card at the El Paso County Coliseum.
Lindenmuth is coming off a majority draw in a fight waged under similar circumstances that she believed she鈥檇 won.
Her opponent, Linn Sandstrom, was under contract to the promoter of the May 16 card in a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. Sandstrom is not from Denmark but is of Swedish heritage, right next door.
What Lindenmuth believed was a hometown decision in Sandstrom鈥檚 favor, or at least a close cousin, cost her the most coveted prize of her career thus far: the World Boxing Association interim flyweight title.
(Saturday鈥檚 WIBA title fight has no 鈥渋nterim鈥� attached, but the WIBA is not among boxing鈥檚 four universally recognized sanctioning bodies. The WBA has that distinction.)
Losing, or not winning, a close fight on the opponent鈥檚 home turf is nothing new for Lindenmuth, and she鈥檚 also won fights under such conditions. But she admits a certain amount of PTSD might have creeped in by this point.
鈥淚鈥檝e gone through it too many times,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his has been a consistent thing lately.鈥�
What鈥檚 new is a chance to drive to a fight venue after flights to Montreal, California, Bangkok, California again, Giza, Egypt and Brondby, Denmark for her last six bouts. She鈥檚 2-3-1 in those bouts.
Then again, she鈥檇 rather fly.
鈥淚 love flying, I鈥檓 not gonna lie,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e did look into how to fly down (to El Paso). But the logistic are ridiculous.鈥�
Southwest Airlines at one time offered direct flights from Albuquerque to El Paso. It no longer does.
Connecting through Phoenix, Houston, Dallas or Denver, she said, would make air travel to El Paso longer than driving there. So Lindenmuth, with trainer Tony Rosales in the driver鈥檚 seat, is taking I-25 to I-10.
The plus side of the short trip: her three sons, friends and other family members will be at the fight cheering her on 鈥� something that didn鈥檛 happen in Bangkok or Brondby.
鈥淪o it鈥檚 been a blessing,鈥� said Lindenmuth, who hasn鈥檛 fought in Albuquerque since March 2024. 鈥淲e love fighting for our fans, and this is just close enough and a great opportunity.鈥�
Rodriguez, her opponent, is a 24-year-old who hasn鈥檛 faced the caliber of competition that Lindenmuth has. The El Pasoan鈥檚 only loss was to the aforementioned Fernandez (35-4-10) in Juarez.
鈥淪he鈥檚 tough,鈥� Lindenmuth said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a little taller, but all I face is tall, tall girls.
鈥淭he whole thing is, listen to (Rosales). Do what he says. Just go in and do the job I know how to do.鈥�
THE UNDERCARD: Saturday鈥檚 card features Kirtland southpaw Elija Martinez (7-1) in a six-round junior middleweight bout against unbeaten (7-0, six KOs) Victor Aranda.
Also, there鈥檚 a four-round bantamweight rematch between Las Cruces鈥� D鈥橝ngelo Sanchez (5-1, three KOs) and Albuquerque鈥檚 Austin Lewis (1-2, no KOs). Sanchez won their first bout by unanimous decision on March 14 in El Paso.
HAMMER ON THE MIC: Albuquerque鈥檚 鈥淗ammer鈥� Abraham Perez (15-0, seven KOs), the WBA interim flyweight champion, has announced he鈥檒l be a guest commentator on the TV Azteca telecast of Saturday鈥檚 card.
