TEAM GB’S Delicious Orie aims to follow in the Olympic footsteps of gym buddy Anthony Joshua.
European and Commonwealth Games super-heavyweight gold medallist Orie is Britain’s brightest boxing hope to top the Paris podium.
And Orie, whose Midlands accent hides the fact he was actually born in Moscow, admitted that training alongside AJ at Team GB’s Sheffield HQ has made him even more determined to come back with gold.
Orie said: “I only started taking boxing seriously after I watched AJ at London 2012.
“That’s when it really resonated with me. That’s my first and biggest Olympic memory — until I do it!
“When I started, the man everyone looked up to was Anthony Joshua.
READ MORE IN BOXING
“From then it was in my head that I need to win a medal, because this is what GB Boxing has been doing time and time again and proved over and over again.
“So it’s only right for me to go out there and do that. To listen to the coaches and go up there and perform and just have full belief and trust in them and myself.”
AJ was crowned king of the super-heavyweights at London 2012 before turning pro and twice becoming world champion.
The Watford star, 34, now has a third world crown in his sights following his demolition of former MMA fighter Francis Ngannou in two rounds in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago.
Most read in Boxing
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
Orie turns 27 on May 31, two months before the Paris Games start.
He added: “I’ve spoken to AJ a few times about what it’s like to step into that Olympic arena.
“It’s great because you can have this kind of conversation with him outside the ring.
“I’m so lucky to be able to speak to him about these things. He has given me advice, both boxing advice and things for outside the ring.
“I just couldn’t have a better role model to look up to.”
Orie’s mum is Russian, his dad Nigerian and he has a Ukrainian grandmother and cousins.
He came to England at the age of seven, settling in Wolverhampton, has an economics degree from Birmingham’s Aston University and reads books on finance in his spare time.
The ongoing situation in Ukraine remains “devastating and horrible” for Orie but his heart, now, is very much red, white and blue.
He added: “If I can win that gold medal for Team GB, it will mean absolutely everything.
“It will be a way for me to say, ‘Thank you’ to the nation, for giving me all the opportunities I’ve had so far.
“I’m just putting it all together and making the most out of it.
“It will be my job in Paris to inspire the next generation, just like I was inspired as a young adult.
“My boxing has 100 per cent evolved over the past couple of years, since I stepped inside the Sheffield GB boxing camp.
“Every tournament I get into, I feel within me that I’m getting better and better.
“Not just physically and in terms of strength, because that’s just natural.
“But in being able to cope with pressure, expectations, being able to cope with the level of opposition and just go out there and win.
“In terms of progression, it’s second to none. I’m feeling lucky the last couple of years now.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“So this is the plan — Paris Olympics and then turn professional. And then world heavyweight champion by 2029.
“Early 30s, world champ — I’ll be happy with that.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
