‘Sweet Sammy’ El-Mais wins Pan Am boxing bronze

Standing at the edge of the ring, Samir El-Mais looked like he has spent the last hour inside of a sauna.

It didn’t take the 200-pound athlete long to break into a full-blown sweat as he sparred inside of a nondescript Southeast Calgary boxing club in June.

Struggling to breath and speak at the same time, he walked this reporter through his mental game inside the ring — trying to imagine every practice session as if it were the fight of his life.

“You try to take all the bad habits here and try to implement the good habits that you’re going to do in the ring,” he said.

El-Mais is a Commonwealth Games gold medalist and now a Pan Am bronze medalist. El-Mais won his quarter-final bout against Brazilian Juan Goncalves Nogueira, but had to withdraw from his Semi-final fight after being diagnosed with a concussion. That’s not only a blow for El-Mais’ Pan Am dreams, but it also knocks him out of qualifying matches for the World Championships in October.

Still, he has high hopes for the Olympics next year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

As a teen in his hometown of Windsor, Ontario, a friend first introduced him to the sport, but at age 15, he quit to focus on getting into college. The man once nicknamed “Sweet Sammy” spent his 20’s as Average Joe. He found a job in construction and even started smoking. A brief return to the sport in his mid-20’s didn’t last long. It wasn’t until he was 29 years old he found his way back into the boxing club, not to win medals — only to quit smoking.

“As soon as I saw my boxing coach, he didn’t know I smoked. I didn’t want to tell him I smoked, so I never touched it again,” he said.

“I did not know that. I knew he wanted to be healthier and I knew he had a lot left in the ring to prove. To quit smoking I think that was him trying to walk away from a lifestyle that was not conducive to his true character and ability,” said Josh Canty, his coach in his hometown of Windsor, Ontario.

A long shot from the beginning, Canty saw plenty of natural ability — as long as El-Mais was willing to commit to training.

“Basically it was shit or get off the pot. He had all the talent in the world,” said Canty.

Just four months after he got back into the ring, El-Mais was fighting and winning a provincial championship, then a national championship, and looking beyond. In 2014, he won Commonwealth gold in the 91kg division.

When asked what it feels like to win a gold medal for Canada, he’s hesitant to try to describe it. Instead he suggests watching the video clip that shows his reaction when the referee raises his arm. That moment speaks for itself — raw emotion, exhaustion and pride all coming out at once.

“Actually winning and putting in all of that work and winning gold for the country, is just something else,” he said.

Today, El-Mais is 34 years old, an age some people would consider past his prime. No one at his boxing club seems to care about how old he is — either does he.

“I feel like I’m 19 years old. My heart pumps like a child. So, I’m good to go,” he said.

Canty compares El-Mais’ time off to the years Mohamad Ali spent away from the ring, after refusing to be drafted into the U.S. Army at war with Vietnam.

“A lot of people think those years preserved [Ali],” said Canty. “Sammy doesn't have the wear and tear on his body.”

El-Mais is currently coached by Jesse Bartlett, who owns the Legacy Boxing Club where he trains. Bartlett is impressed with his professional approach to training.

“He’s such a high-level guy and the intensity that he brings to the gym is just unmatched anywhere,” said Bartlett. “When it comes to fighters its really about how many miles are on that engine. Maybe the fact that he took that time off is what’s allowing his to fight at this level right now.”

Sweet Sammy doesn’t do many things half speed. Training for the sport is a full time job. Most days begin with a jog, followed by a gym workout, then he heads to the boxing club in the evening.

“He’s easily the best fighter I’ve ever trained with,” said sparring partner Mark Elaschuk. “Just talent-wise, skill-wise, to be a big man and move as fast as he does — he’s unreal.”

El-Mais will be 35 by the upcoming Olympic Games. Canty thinks he’s on track to qualify, as long as he keeps winning fights. But, failure to qualify would not be the end of his career.

“I’m turning pro. It’s never over,” said El-Mais.