Boxer Katherine Lindenmuth, a former high school cheerleader in Los Lunas, is making her professional debut on April 22. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/JOURNAL)
Katherine Lindenmuth is a 32-year-old widowed mother of three boys, ages 8, 11 and 13.
She’s a former Los Lunas High School cheerleader who for years coached cheer and dance.
She has a full time job.
She has a bachelor’s degree in business and sports marketing and is studying for a master’s in criminal justice.
And, oh, she’s scheduled to make her professional boxing debut on April 22, matched against Santa Fe’s Kara Leibowitz (pro debut as well) in a four-round bout on a Legacy Promotions card in the South Valley.
Lindenmuth trains six days a week, with a Sunday morning run thrown in. Three times a week, after work, she commutes from her home in Bosque Farms to Albuquerque for training.
yeah Hers is a busy life.
“I have to have a lot of routine, a lot of structure,” Lindenmuth said before a recent session at Rosales Karate & Kickboxing Academy on Lomas NE. “It has to go a certain way, or if one thing falls, the domino effect.”
If one domino seems less essential than others, one might figure it’s that boxing thing. But, no. Combat sports is part of that structure, a part she has no intention of letting go.
“She’s dedicated,” said Tony Rosales, her longtime coach. “She gives it 110 percent, and she loves it.”
Katherine Lindenmuth is shown during a recent workout. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal)
Lindenmuth has trained in karate and kickboxing with Rosales off and on since age 14. After cheerleading, coaching, college, marriage and kids, she opted to come back to the gym.
In 2019, James Lindenmuth, her husband and a boxing ring announcer, died. Her decision to box competitively, she said, is somehow intertwined with her loss.
“It was something that I really sunk myself into,” she said, “other than getting a good workout in. I was able to focus my mind and found something that, I still have some work to do, but I have the talent to make moves with it.”
In June, Lindenmuth defeated Colorado’s Jelena Vigil by second-round TKO to win a Golden Gloves regional amateur title.
Short of stature even for a 112-pounder, the 4-foot-11 Lindenmuth fought from the outside and was clearly outboxed in the first round. In the second – as per Rosales’ instructions – she battled her way inside and overwhelmed Vigil with punch after punch until the referee stepped in.
She attributes her first-round TKO loss to Detroit’s Jazmine Hamilton at Golden Gloves nationals to inexperience.
After tripping and falling into the ring ropes, Lindenmuth said, she failed to hold her gloves up to show the referee she was unhurt. The referee stopped the fight.
“I’ll never make that mistake again,” she said. “… The experience was worth everything, though.”
More amateur experience, then, might seem like a good idea. But there are 32 reasons, Rosales said, why – if turning pro is what Lindenmuth wants – now is the appropriate time.
“We’ve got a short time because of her age,” he said. “The (normal) lifetime for a boxer is from 22 to 28.”
For Lindenmuth, her fight on the 22nd is only the beginning.
“I don’t see an end right now,” she said. “I feel like I’m just getting started. … I told (Rosales), we’re gonna take this as far as we can make this.”
In gratitude to her sons, friends, Rosales and teammates at Rosales’ gym, she said, her pro debut is for them – as well as for her late husband – as much as for her.
“It’s just rewarding,” she said, “knowing that they’re here watching me, and I just want to be that role model. I want to work hard for them, and I’m gonna put on a good show.
“I’m gonna show that a small girl from Bosque Farms can make big things happen.”
CATCHING UP: Friday in Orlando, Fla. Jackson-Wink MMA welterweight Chris Brown (8-4) lost by split decision to Carlos Leal (16-3) on PFL Challenger Series 8.
… Saturday in Costa Mesa, Calif., El Paso boxer Jennifer Han (18-5-1, one KO), who is trained by Las Cruces’ Louie Burke, lost by unanimous decision to champion Mikaela Mayer (17-0, five KOs ) in her bid for two versions of the world super featherweight title.
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