Delicious Orie is about to embark on the biggest year of his life.
Orie is one of three British boxers already qualified for the Olympic Games in Paris, which are just six months away. The super-heavyweight medal hope booked his place in July with gold at the European Championships. Now it’s all about fine-tuning.
This could be the last time we see boxing at the Olympics. Amateur boxing’s governing body AIBA has been thrown out of the Olympic movement by the International Olympic Committee over its failure to reform.
Unless the amateur sport falls into line and meets IOC demands then boxing will not appear at the 2028 games in Los Angeles. The Olympic tradition is so rich, conferring upon the winners honour and prestige, especially in the super-heavyweight category.
It would be amazing for him to finish his amateur career with gold, following in the bootstraps of some of the greats of the game like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Lennox Lewis.
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I had a lovely evening with him at the Pride of Britain awards. He’s a clever kid. A fluent Russian speaker having spent his first seven years there and the owner of a first-class honours degree in economics and management.
We talked about his background, his training. He was joking about the chore of going up to Sheffield Monday to Friday and having to run in his spare time at the weekends.
He was telling me about the preparation over the coming months, choosing where to fight, having a look at opponents, trying to plot a route to the summer that will give him the best chance. He is in great hands. The guys in Sheffield know how to get our fighters ready. Orie will arrive in Paris full of confidence, punching hard and as fit as he can be.
Orie (R) stands a good chance of landing a gold medal in Paris (Getty Images)
After the medal successes of Audley Harrison, Anthony Joshua, Joe Joyce and Frazer Clarke, Orie will be a marked man. Team GB boxers are considered a scalp now. He will have to manage the expectation.
Like Joyce and Joshua, Orie came to the game late. He was 18 before he entered a gym. But he felt immediately at home and at 6ft 6ins with a long reach and good speed he fits the template of the 21 st Century heavyweight.
He gets Olympic year under way at an international meet in Sheffield in a fortnight, one more step towards the top of the mountain.
Follow Barry on Twitter at @ClonesCyclone @McGuigans_Gym
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