“Sweet Sammy,” as he is known, punched his way to athletic glory and is part of a rich tradition of local boxers.

The pride of Catholic Central High School, El-Mais captured the 2009OntarioProvincial Championship. It wouldn’t be his last accomplishment in the ring.  While still relatively unknown, El-Mais captured the Canadian Heavyweight Championship in 2010.  "Sweety Sammy" won the Ringside World Championship in the heavyweight division in 2011, and he was only getting started.  He was a seven-time Canadian champion in the sport from 2009 to 2016.

Samir began boxing at the age of 12and first represented Canada at the age of 29, after a 14 year hiatus from the sport. He came close to winning a medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. El-Mais was more driven than ever after coming within one win of qualifying for the London Olympics in2012.  He was then ranked 10th in the world. In the same year, he competed in the World Championships of the International Boxing Association.  In Santiago, Chile, he competed in the Continental Championships and won a bronze medal.

El-Mais won Canada's first Commonwealth Games boxing gold medal in more than a decade in 2014, in front of a crowd of more than 10,000.  On home soil in the Toronto-hosted Pan American Games in 2015, El-Mais had to settle for a bronze medal.  An unfortunate concussion made it necessary for El-Mais to forfeit his heavyweight semi-final match.  

In each of four consecutive years, 2011 to 2014, he was named Boxer of the Year by Windsor Essex Sports Persons of the Year (WESPY) and in 2015 El-Mais was WESPY’s Male Athlete of the Year.  

He continues to give back to the sport he loves, currently serving as Assistant Coach of the Canadian National Boxing Team. Samir “Sweet Sammy” El-Mais can add one more accolade to his already full trophy case, the induction ring from the Windsor/Essex Sports Hall of Fame in the Athlete designation.