AS the era of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua comes to an end, the United Kingdom will be desperate to cling on to its presence in the heavyweight division for years to come and fans are eager to see which future superstars will emerge at the weight.
With hot prospect Moses Itauma, 11-0 (9 KOs), already signed with Queensberry Promotions, Frank Warren has now further strengthened his heavyweight stable with the addition of Paris 2024 Olympian Delicious Orie.
Standing at 6ft 6ins, the towering Orie has been thought of as Great Britain’s standout super-heavyweight in the amateur ranks during recent years, achieving far superior success to his countrymen and boasting wins over the likes of Jeamie Tshikeva, Omar Mohamed Shiha and Mahammad Abdullayev.
Named after Delious Kennedy from American R&B group, ‘All-4-One’, the eye-catching name of Delicious Orie is one that has often been looked for amongst the amateur scene and Orie’s gold medal successes at both the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 European Games have had fans eagerly awaiting news of a switch to the pros.
However, with mass media attention turning to Orie last year in Paris, he suffered an unfortunate split-decision defeat to Davit Chaloyan in the round of 16 of the Games – an opponent he had defeated at the European Games the year before.
His Olympic dream over, 27-year-old Orie has decided that now is the time to turn over, as he joins heavyweight hopefuls such as Itauma, Lawrence Okolie, Fabio Wardley and David Adeleye in what is a stacked crop of heavyweights operating under the Queensberry banner.
Following news of his professional deal, a proud Orie spoke of his excitement at teaming up with Frank Warren’s outfit looked ahead to his professional debut.
“I can’t wait to get this next chapter underway!” said Orie.
“I’ve put the heartbreak of Paris behind me and look back on my amateur career with pride. A home Commonwealth Games where I won my first major gold and closing the European Championship as Team GB’s flag bearer with a gold medal round my neck were definitely the highlights.”
Meanwhile, Warren added further comment and described Orie as ‘skilful, powerful, popular and charismatic’ after securing the much-contested signature of the Wolverhampton-based contender.
“Delicious has got everything stacked in his favour to make himself a major success as a professional heavyweight. I am certain the British public will get behind him in a big way as he makes his way in the sport,” stated Warren.
“We have got incredible depth in the heavyweight division here at Queensberry but, as always, we develop each fighter as an individual and Delicious will be given the right fights at the right time to progress him towards major title contention.”
The next step is an announcement of his pro debut with news expected to follow soon.
