Mikaela Laurén (born 20 January 1976) is a Swedish

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

and former national team

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. In boxing she held the WBC female

light middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the Intern ...

title from 2014 to 2016, and has challenged once for the undisputed female

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

championship in 2017.

Early life

Laurén grew up in Enskede in southern

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. She started swimming at the age of three and trained with the Stockholm police sports association. At the age of eighteen she moved to the United States, there she was recruited by the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

. During her stay in the country she decided to tattoo the text "Destiny" on her lower back, at the same time that her best friend, swimmer

Therese Alshammar Malin Therese Alshammar (born 26 August 1977) is a Sweden, Swedish Swimming (sport), swimmer who has won three Olympic medals, 25 World Championship medals, and 43 European Championship medals. She is a specialist in short distances races in fre ...

, tattooed the text "Diva" at the same spot on her body. In 2001 Laurén returned to Sweden and continued her preparation for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In March 2005, she was arrested for having anabolic steroids at her home. She was sentenced to one year and two months imprisonment for doping and weapon crimes. She was released in May 2006 after serving her sentence. During her imprisonment she studied nutrition and training at the Mittuniversity in

Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...

. She also continued physio and led the training for the inmates at the prison. After her release she educated herself to become a personal trainer, she decided to return to

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

in the United States to start her work to become a professional boxer. Laurén competed in the celebrity dance show

Let's Dance 2017 ''Let's Dance'' 2017 is the twelfth season of the celebrity dance show '' Let's Dance'' in Sweden. The presenters were David Hellenius and new for this season was presenter Tilde de Paula Eby who replaced Jessica Almenäs. It premiered on 10 Ma ...

which is broadcast on TV4. She was the first dancer to be eliminated.

Professional boxing career

Laurén signed a contract with New Sweden in May 2007 and made her professional debut in April 2009. On 8 November 2014 she won the WBC female superwelterweight title against American boxer Aleksandra Magdaziak. She challenged undisputed female

champion

Cecilia Brækhus Cecilia Carmen Linda Brækhus (born 28 September 1981) is a Colombian-born Norwegian professional boxer and former kickboxer. She reigned as the undisputed female welterweight boxing champion from 2014 to 2020, and is the first woman in any wei ...

at Oslofjord Convention Center,

Stokke Stokke is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2017. The area is now part of Sandefjord Municipality. The administrative ...

, Norway on 21 October 2017, losing by stoppage in the sixth round. Laurén retired from professional boxing in 2019 but made a comeback in 2024. She challenged WBF female welterweight champion Michaela Kotaskova in Vienna, Austria, on 30 November 2024, losing by unanimous decision.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Living people 1975 births Swedish female swimmers Swedish women boxers Boxers from Stockholm Swimmers from Stockholm SK Neptun swimmers World Boxing Council champions Welterweight boxers Light-middleweight boxers Middleweight boxers World light-middleweight boxing champions