Tall and physically strong, Swedish boxer Elin Cederroos featured in a great fight against American Alicia Napoleon Espinosa in January 2020 to be crowned World Boxing Association champion in the super middleweight division.
She started playing soccer when she was 6 years old. At the age of 16, she decided to move to Västerås to go to school and pursue her passion for the ball. She then moved to Stockholm to start higher studies that made her a sports teacher. Between 2006 and 2010, she was part of Sweden’s top soccer league and played in more than 100 games with the Damallsvenskan team. She was an outstanding defender on the field, and that gave her the opportunity to play a match with the Swedish women’s national team.
When training as a soccer player, she practiced boxing in several preseasons under the guidance of the well-known trainer Leffe Carlsson. He noticed the qualities of Cederroos, who only used the punching the bag for fun: “After the 2010 soccer season, I felt satisfied with soccer and was curious to try boxing seriously, but my husband and I wanted to have children first. At the age of 28, when our first daughter was four months old, I started boxing at BK Rapid with my trainer Alexander Wennersten. I boxed as an amateur for two years and did a total of 15 fights. I had two bouts with the national team. Then I became pregnant with our second child and when he turned one year old, I entered professional boxing.”
With an imposing presence in the ring, Cederross has a total of 8 undefeated fights and is champion at 168 lbs. She made her debut in April 2017 with a resounding TKO. On March 22, 2018, she won the IBF belt in Belgium after defeating local Femke Hermans on points: “I soon realized that I could use my body. I think it helped me to develop so fast. I trained a lot from an early age and was able to develop both my strength and fitness. Also, I grew up with horses and laid a good foundation with horseback riding plus all the hard work in the stable.”
“I am at my best shape and boxing better than ever,” assured Elin Cederroos, who took advantage of the pandemic pause to continue with the physical-technical growth she desires to become the undisputed absolute champion of the four main world organizations. However, she is aware of the time required to achieve her goals in the best conditions and adds that: “I love and hate how complicated boxing is. You can have the best physique, but if you’re not mentally prepared and calm, you can fall quickly. There is always something to improve. There are so many crazy details and styles that I can practice that make boxing a constant challenge.”
With great emotion, this strong boxer said: “I love the energy and excitement that can build up in the ring. If I compare it to when I used to play soccer, boxing is always action and I usually enjoy it,” letting out a brief laugh where she let out those ambiguous moments that every athlete goes through while training every day. “Boxing has forced me to challenge myself and face situations where I’m not in total control. To dare to try new things and to fail or surprise myself. I have developed both as a boxer and as a person,” said Cederroos, who is not only an athlete and a mother, she also runs a massage and wellness training company in addition to the inspirational lectures she gives about her journey from soccer player to boxing world champion: “I hope to inspire others and encourage them to invest in their passion. To believe in themselves and keep fighting. I want to inspire girls and women to set high goals and to trust in themselves to be able to achieve those goals.”
Among the possible opponents to face on the way to being the best, Cederroos thinks that if she were to face boxers like Cristina Hammer or Claressa Shields, it would be very interesting. In the meantime, she is waiting for new opportunities and continues to push herself to the maximum to be ready.
