By Jim Dower: With sadness, boxingnews24 reports that former WBC International and European heavyweight title holder Sinan Samil Sam (31-4, 16 KOs) reportedly has passed away at 41 in his home country of Turkey due to a problem with his liver.
Sam was recently hospitalized due to liver problems and was in need of a liver transplant, according to todayszaman.com. Getting a liver transplant usually involves a waiting list and it generally takes a while before a donor is found.
At the time of Sam’s recent hospitalization in Ankara, he was said to be vomiting blood. Sam’s condition worsened to the point where he wasn’t conscious.
During a six year period from 2002 to 2008, Sinan Samil Sam fought some of the best heavyweights in boxing. Known for his punching power and strong chin, Sam defeated Przemyslaw Saleta, Paolo Vidoz, Peter Okello, Denis Bakhtov, and Lawrence Clay Bey. Sam was beaten by the following heavyweighta: Oleg Maskaev, Juan Carlos Gomez, and Luan Krasniqi. Sam was always a tough out even for the best heavyweights. He was a nightmare for many of the heavyweights due to his stamina, hard punches and his ability to keep pressuring his opponents for the entire 10 to 12 round fights.
At 6’3″, 240-250, Sam had world class size and excellent boxing skills. Based out of Germany, 1999 won the World Championships at Super Heavyweight in Houston.
Sam had a weight problem during his career. It’s hard to know how good Sam would have been had he kept his weight at around 230. He was carrying around too much weight on his frame, and he likely would have been a better fighter had he been leaner. But as it is, Sam was still a very good heavyweight, and he only lost against the best in the sport.
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