Super-heavyweight hope Delicious Orie and some of Britain’s finest amateur boxers, all campaigning for Olympic glory, will feature at the World Boxing Cup: GB Open this week; after qualifying for this summer's Games in Paris, Orie declared: "I've shown the world that I'm here"
Wednesday 17 January 2024 10:13, UK
Some of Britain’s finest amateur boxers will be looking to catch the eye of the Olympic squad’s selectors at a new tournament that begins in Sheffield on Wednesday.
The World Boxing Cup: GB Open will feature top-class international competitors. But in certain weight classes Great Britain's national squad will enter multiple boxers who are striving to be the one chosen to go to the next Olympic qualification event in March.
Light-heavyweight in particular will be fiercely contested featuring Wales' impressive Taylor Bevan, England's seasoned George Crotty as well as Ramtin Musah, another GB boxer.
Only one boxer from Great Britain's talent-laden 80kg division will be able to go to the qualifier and all will be looking to outdo their GB rivals at the tournament in Sheffield.
Light-middleweight will be similarly competitive with Lewis Richardson dropping down from 75kg to 71kg and aiming to prove himself against Harris Akbar, a European gold medallist in the division.
At 57kg Solihull's Elise Glynn, a quality international newcomer, will have to hold off GB rivals in Olivia Holmes and Sameenah Toussaint.
Super-heavyweight hope Delicious Orie has already qualified for the Paris Olympics this summer. But that doesn't mean the pressure is off for him.
If anything winning the gold medal at the European Games, the first qualification event, has only ramped up expectation.
"I started boxing envisioning that gold medal at the Olympics. This is nothing new, it's not like a shock. I don't want to sound like I'm being big-headed or anything like that. I feel like it's just been on my mind for so long. There's a bit of pressure that comes with it," Orie told Sky Sports.
"I feel like it's how you deal with that pressure that really differentiates you.
"If you have the right support and you're really true to yourself, you can go a long way. I believe mental health is so much more important than physical health."
Winning his European gold medal has also given him confidence.
"For me it was a little bit like a statement," he said. "I've been in the Worlds before, I've competed internationally but I guess I never made my mark.
"It's just shown the world that I'm here and I'm here to perform and do well for myself."
He's been putting the work ahead of the competition. When he speaks to Sky Sports, Orie's smile is a missing a front tooth, evidence in itself of how hard the sparring has been.
"I'm looking like a boxer now!" he laughed. "It's boxing, just got hit in sparring and happened to be right on the tooth, so I'm going to be toothless for a bit.
"It shows a little bit of the gruesome aspect of the sport. At the end of the day, we're getting in the ring, we're punching each other and as a result this can happen. It's a new look for 2024, I guess.
"I've got real good people around me. Especially the boxers that are pushing me on. I know that I need this, to get to the level I'm looking to get to this summer.
"It's not easy. It's not an easy task to get a gold medal at the Olympics. So I'm willing to go through the trials and tribulations I have to go through in order to get there."
Boxing at the GB Open will be the first time he's competed in the UK since winning the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
That was a memorable night in his Birmingham hometown.
"An absolutely fantastic experience. To be able to box here again, to have my friends and family come and support me, I couldn't put it into words, it's such an amazing thing," he said.
Orie added: "It's good to get that experience in, I need to get as many bouts as I can in order to really shine at the Olympics and what better place to do it than right here.
"It'll be good for me to get the practice in because these guys who I'm potentially going to be competing with [in Sheffield] are at top level and the guys I'm expecting to meet at the Olympics. So very important for me to get that experience beforehand."
Running from January 17-20 the tournament will have two sessions of boxing on each day.
The event is also significant because it is one of the first to be organised by World Boxing.
World Boxing is a new organisation campaigning to save boxing as an Olympic sport. Boxing has been left off the Olympic programme for the 2028 Games and after a number of controversies the International Olympic Committee (the IOC) has stripped IBA, boxing's international federation, of recognition.
World Boxing hopes to become a new governing body for the sport and be recognised by the IOC.
"Do you know one of the biggest things I've noticed about amateur boxing?" Orie said. "I came into boxing quite late at 18 years old. When I walk into these boxing gyms, I see young adults, kids, that benefit so much from these gyms.
"It starts from grassroots boxing, amateur boxing and if it wasn't for amateur boxing or the Olympic group, kids don't have any other purpose.
"These sports get kids and young adults off the streets and it's important that we keep it.
"I really think World Boxing are doing the right thing and trying to keep it and getting more boxers boxing. Keeping that ambition to represent Great Britain because what an amazing thing to do."
