When Sammy Leone roped up his first makeshift boxing ring at the UAICC in Zillmere in 2012, he would have had no idea that this would lead to him becoming a talent scout for the 2032 Olympics.
“We had several small boxing rings rigged up in the back yard on the grass. The kids loved the sparring sessions. They didn’t love the mozzies, but I think they developed faster hands by constantly swatting them.”
Sammy’s pilgrimage to teaching boxing and developing a youth group (whilst helping people who had nothing where he could), actually started when his talent was spotted leading to a fully paid scholarship as a teenager to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
“It was an incredible experience that came out of the blue, daily boxing training and I had always had a passion for youthwork so i started studying it down there,” says Sammy.
Whilst the AIS was instrumental in forming Sammy’s future career, it also had a very harsh lesson. From a group of seven in Canberra, three were picked to go to the Olympics. Sammy was one of the four that didn’t make it.
The devastating blow forged an inner strength and motivation to build something. It took a long time germinating inside him — 20 years of work inside the community services sector, whilst pursuing an amateur boxing career (including turning pro), winning the State Title, and developing a strong reputation in the sport.
He trained in multiple gyms on the northside and southside of Brisbane, got a Cert 4 and other diplomas in community service, all whilst teaching the kids at the UAICC everyday, until a point where he needed a full-time venue.
That led to a move to establish “The Boss Boxing” at a commercial property in Zillmere. The coaches were and still are volunteers, people who have a passion to coach and help people of all ages to better themselves.
“We’ve had children as young as five up to a lady of 71 years of age, and all ages in between.”
The Boss Boxing is now established at 388 Newman Road in Geebung, where Sammy has also established the First Nations Boxing Academy, to work with the best young talent around.
In 2023, he also developed the inaugural First Nations Boxing Championships at the Hamilton Hotel. The event is due to take place again for the fourth consecutive year on September 19 in the conference hall above the Hamilton Hotel. It is open to First Nations people and anyone else.
These days, Sammy is working on a new exciting project of identifying a team of First Nations Boxers to take as a squad for a challenge to take on a team from Fiji in Fiji. As ever, that will involve plenty of fundraising efforts to enable costs of the trip to be covered.
Now recognised as a “Futures Development Club” for the metro north area of Brisbane, a pathway through the state body of Boxing Qld, the Geebung gym hosts regular sessions for the up nd coming talent of the state.
The evolution of Sammy and the organisation has been noticed. Recently, he was asked to become a talent scout for the 2032 Olympics, a program supported by the Queensland Academy of Sport and the AIS, called “Youth for 2032” which will hold regular scouting programs at Sammy’s joint.
“It’s all about assessing the physical attributes of the talent early, so that as we head towards 2032, we are developing kids who have the agility and physique that can be built on.” says Sammy.
The full circle of Sammy’s life going from scouted to Olympic scout has come from resilience, discipline and the desire to pass on his lived experience to the youth. He has also continually helped others from his own pocket, where people have fallen through the cracks of the system.
This weekend Sammy is the guest speaker at the Brisbane Men’s Breakfast, held in Fitzgibbon.
The event has seen a strong boxing contingent including former Kickboxing World Champion, Ian Jacobs, and a fresh talent in Isaac “Heasdsplitter” Hardman who fights in the IBC, the T20 version of MMA, a smaller ring, less grappling, very brutal.
Past guest speakers have included MMA fighter Jason Lonergan, as well as Olympic Gold Medalist, Duncan Armstrong and former Brisbane Bullets star, Andre Moore.
The event is the brainchild of Hudson Dale, a series of great speakers with a free breakfast all covered by incredibly generous sponsors.
Dale Farm is one of the most extraordinary properties in Brisbane. Dale, a Commercial Property Agent with Raine and Horne in Kedron, fell in love with the place but the floods were not kind to it; however, he is very focused on continually upgrading it and adding new elements towards his vision as a centre for men’s health.
Sammy Leone will add a new chapter to the Men’s Breakfast series on Saturday morning with a 6.30-7am start at 42A Desert Willow Way in Fitzgibbon.
This has to be the best free event in Brisbane. You’d be crazy to miss it.
Published 17-May-2026
