Donna Alberico for The New York Times Ahmed Samir with his trainer, Leon Taylor, at Mendez Boxing on West 26th Street.As Ahmed Samir stood in a ring in the Flatiron district throwing punches the other day, his mind was on another fight — for the future of his homeland, and for his right to return there.
Three and a half years ago, Mr. Samir had stood in Kennedy International Airport grappling with the decision of his life. He had arrived with the Egyptian national boxing team to fight in the 2007 World Boxing Championships in Chicago. Instead of boarding the connecting flight, he skipped out, leaving his team and effectively defecting.
“I was so tired, so sick of the system in Egypt,” he said. “You’re always afraid of everything, there’s no future for us.”
Cut to the present. Mr. Samir, 6 feet 1, 215 pounds, 26 years old and living in Astoria, Queens, has amassed a 10-0 record as a professional heavyweight, fighting out of Mendez Boxing club on West 26th Street. His purses are not yet high enough to let him quit his job as a part-time security guard, but they are growing.
Donna Alberico for The New York Times Mr. Samir walked away from the Egyptian national boxing team in 2007 and settled in New York.“Hopefully, we got the first Egyptian heavyweight champ in the making,” said Leon Taylor, Mr. Samir’s trainer.
After his defection, Mr. Samir traveled a path familiar to new immigrants. An uncle took him in and supported him, helping him land a job at a pizza place and eventually taking him to a gym.
Adjusting was tough. Mr. Samir had language difficulties and missed his family, including three younger sisters and a younger brother.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian news media called Mr. Samir a traitor and said he left his country to deliver pizzas.
“Many athletes had done it before, but with him it was a different story,” said the uncle, Mohammed Alam. “He was young and they expected a lot from him; they wanted the gold medal in Beijing” in the 2008 Olympics. He remembered opening an Egyptian newspaper to see a story about his nephew. “There were a lot of bad news reports,” he said.
While Mr. Samir had won gold medals at the 2007 All-African Games and the 2007 Arab Championships and racked up a 198-13 amateur record in Egypt, it took time for him to be taken seriously here. But he said that if he dared return home, he would have faced arrest or a fine of up to $100,000. He chuckled at the figure, recalling his meager salary.
Watching from afar, Mr. Samir first thought the protests against President Hosni Mubarak were little more than a joke. Rebellion, let alone revolution, seemed preposterous. That changed quickly. “I was so proud of my nation,” he said Thursday. “I was so happy.”
Mr. Samir, who has obtained a green card here, said he planned to return to Egypt for a brief stay in the next month, though he would not provide specific dates because he was still somewhat fearful. But for the first time, he feels optimistic.
“I hope everything changes and the new government understands what I’m doing for my country,” he said. “I mean, my nickname is even the Prince of Egypt.”
5 Comments
Great article! This guy is a hero.
— Mitch GoosenSeems like a nice guy and a good boxer, but a hero? Again, that term gets thrown around waaaaaaay to much. Nice human interest story though.
— blinkLoved the piece, Mr. Gold. It showed much more than an Egyptian boxer torn to go back or not. It captured his decisions years ago and his seeming intuition about the bubbling of the water in Egypt. I will surely follow Samir’s career.
— Cameron Conawaymr. samir is a great fighter i know him from the national team from egypt , not only him there are a lot of egyptian stars in the sports world , i’m the new york champion , and the k1 world champion in kickboxing and no one know any thing about me in egypt and my ring name also is (the egyptian tiger )
— ahmed fahim the egyptian tigerGood article.
I like the human interest story set in the current political environment. It gives people like me who have only a passing interest in boxing something to watch for. I will look for the name Ahmid Samir as I peruse the sports pages in the future.
Marty Spottl , Greensboro, NC
— Martin Spottl