Wrestling

PREPARING himself for Olympic glory, boxer Delicious Orie received a suspicious Instagram message offering him trials with the WWE. But the super-heavyweight star brushed off the invite as nothing more than a scam. Delicious Orie was beaten in the opening round of the 2024 OlympicsCredit: PAOrie was on holiday in Thailand when he realised he had been offered WWE trialsCredit: @deliciousboxingIt was only after he was controversially beaten in the opening round of the 2024 Paris Games that he gave the DM a second thought. By then, Orie was on holiday in Bangkok enjoying some well-earned rest off the back of heartbreaking defeat to Armenia’s Davit Chaloyan.He did a bit more digging and realised the offer from the WWE was real – and had already been accepted on his behalf. Orie, 27, told SunSport: “So they messaged me actually on Instagram – this was during the Olympics.READ MORE IN BOXING”So I wasn’t on my social media during the Olympics. I actually saw it on holiday a few weeks after.”And I’m looking up, I’m just looking through the messages and I’m seeing the WWE – initially I thought it was just like one of those fake things trying to get scam you.”But then I opened the message, I looked into the account and I’m like, ‘This is all legit, you know, they want me out.'”So I’m in Thailand, I bell my manager because I messaged them back and said, ‘Yeah, of course, let’s talk.’Most read in BoxingCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS”And they said, ‘Oh no, we’ve already been speaking with your manager and we’ve sorted everything out, you’re flying out this day.'”I’m calling my manager like, ‘What’s going on here? I’ve haven’t been told this!Former world heavyweight champion who KO’d Lennox Lewis, 59, wins second comeback fight as opponent retires “And he goes, ‘You just need to chill out, just relax, have a good time on holiday and then you can reset because your mind’s going to be going.'”And I’m like, well it’s too late now my mind’s going now. But yeah, I went out there just to have a look, see what they offer and it was a fantastic experience.”Orie did undergo a physical trial with the WWE in Florida – but stopped short of any high-flying turnbuckle moves.He said: “We did bits, it was very light, though. I’d watched a lot of the real physical jumping off the the ropes and all that stuff.”The main reason why was they were a little bit more cautious on it because as athletes and the things that we’ve got going on behind the scenes, injuries, as you may know, there’s there’s a high injury rate in wrestling, jumping off things and stuff like that.”So I got to try out a little bit, but not too much.”What Orie realised most though was the WWE stars’ talent on the microphone – something boxers rarely excel at. He said: “That’s why the likes of Tyson Fury and all them stand out so much because he’s able to do that, whereas you don’t get many in the UK that can do it.”Orie only began boxing at 18He suffered a controversial Olympic defeat to Armenia’s Davit ChaloyanCredit: PAOrie – born in Moscow to a Russian mother and Nigerian father – moved to the UK aged seven seeking a better life. He only started boxing at 18 and excelled as an amateur winning national titles as well as Commonwealth gold and European bronze. And with still so much to achieve in the professional ranks, Orie decided to politely turn down the WWE’s approach. He said: “I was thinking what’s gonna get me the most fulfilment out of my life?”I could have gone down that route, but do I wanna be a 70 year old looking back thinking what could I have been as a professional boxer?”I think there’s something quite real, raw, primal about boxing. “There’s nowhere to hide, the amount of work you put in is what shows. No matter whether it is you win, lose, it doesn’t matter.”It’s how much work you can portray and show people how much work you you’ve put in. And that’s basically what I wanted to do.I’m just looking through the messages and I’m seeing the WWE – initially I thought it was just like one of those fake things trying to get scam you.Delicious Orie”That’s the reason why I decided to sort of say, ‘Look, amazing offer, but definitely the professional boxing is for me.'”Orie has now turned pro with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren at heavyweight with his debut set to be announced soon. And he arrives on the scene just as superstars Anthony Joshua, 35, and Tyson Fury, 36, prepare to depart leaving a gaping gap behind them. Orie said: “When I started boxing, I knew that there was a target audience that I can appeal to.”I believe that I’m quite real and I could just appeal to normal people and I can also try and inspire as many people that were or still are in my position or were in my position in the past.”So I thought to myself, there’s definitely a gap in that market for me. So from before I even thought about turning professional, I knew that.”Orie expects to fight regularly in 2025 – and promises plenty of eyeballs – whether they are booing or cheering. He said: “I’ll be very, very busy, and it’ll be very, very exciting.READ MORE SUN STORIES”There’ll be people gathering together watching Delicious Orie box, whether they don’t like me or like me, doesn’t matter. “They’ll be watching me box.”Anthony Joshua with OrieCredit: @deliciousboxing More