“It’s horrific, it really is,” Delicious Orie says as, turning his attention briefly away from his hopes of winning an Olympic gold medal in Paris, the British super‑heavyweight born in Moscow to a Russian mother and a Nigerian father considers the war in Ukraine.
Orie spent the first seven years of his life in Russia before the racism his dad endured became unbearable and his family emigrated to England. Rather than thinking of all he needs to do to emulate his hero, Anthony Joshua, and become an Olympic champion, Orie now considers how he might have ended up as a Russian soldier during the invasion of Ukraine.
“If Mum and Dad didn’t decide to go, and migrate, I could have been forced out there,” Orie says. “I’m in my 20s, I’m healthy, and it’s a really scary thought. I’m just very fortunate not to be involved in that horrific event.”
Orie spoke Russian, and only a few English words, in those first seven years. It was only when his parents arrived in London 20 years ago that he began to learn a language in which he is now an eloquent speaker as he charts his remarkable life story and unexpected embrace of boxing. Orie, like Joshua, came to the ring late compared to most leading amateur boxers but he now stands on the verge of another life‑changing journey in Paris.
The aim is for Orie to win gold and then turn professional with the kind of fanfare that made Joshua a multimillionaire who went on to win various versions of the world heavyweight title. But, before we turn to that exacting challenge, Orie reflects on his past with an intelligence and charisma which confirm that he will adjust smoothly to stardom – as long as he can handle his dangerous business between the ropes.
We talk more about Russia first and Orie says: “I remember it being quite tough and feeling the hardship my parents experienced. Mum and Dad did a very good job of shielding me but, at school, you naturally noticed the way kids behaved. I was physically different to everybody and comments would be made. It’s only when you’re in a different environment that you think: ‘Wow!’ But growing up it was normal and my mother spoke to me in Russian.”
His parents had met in Moscow as students. “My dad was from Lagos and he found a university course in Moscow to try to make a better life for himself. He met my mum in his 20s but it was tough with her being Russian. My mum tells me of the difficult conversations she had with family members and friends. So that’s why, for my mum, it was quite an easy journey moving to the UK. She thought: ‘I love this man and I love my children and I want the best for them.’ She knew it was inevitable we’d experience hardship even more in our teenage years.”
It was difficult for his father to find work in Russia and he also suffered overt and violent racism. “He got beat up on public transport,” Orie says. “There was one occasion where he was kicked while minding his own business. One of the worst parts is that he didn’t get any help until he got home and Mum had to look after him. That’s just one example of what went down in the 1990s.”
The adjustment to life in London was challenging for little Delicious. “I came here when I was in year 4 and it was difficult. Russia and England are so different in terms of culture and language and, as a kid, you want to fit in. But in south‑east London, in Thamesmead, I appreciated the variety of people – some of whom came from Africa, the Caribbean and Asia.”
Life became easier, he says, when “in early secondary school, we moved to Wolverhampton”, adding: “I started to identify myself as British because I had mates and adjusted to the culture. I was already into basketball as that had started in London because I was quite a big kid and athletic. I was inspired by Luol Deng.”
Deng and his family were refugees from war in Sudan and, living in Brixton, his talent for basketball was spotted. He played college basketball for Duke and Deng made it all the way to the NBA where he became a two‑time All-Star with the Chicago Bulls before also playing for Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Orie is excited to hear that I interviewed Deng many times in the UK and US: “That’s where my spark came, from basketball and Luol Deng. I became driven to follow his path and go to college in America and play in the NBA. I had that dream from when I was 10. I was decent and played for good teams and in the England trials but it came massively to a halt when I was 18.”
As a stateless person, Orie could not go to college in the US. “That destroyed me. My dreams were shattered. I was a UK resident but I didn’t have British citizenship or a passport. So I was unable to travel and get an American scholarship. I had worked so hard for eight years and it was all over just as some of my mates got scholarships to places like Arizona. It completely broke me. I felt like my dream was ripped away from me.”
Orie’s sombre expression suddenly changes. “But Anthony Joshua came along at just the perfect time. I didn’t know anything about boxing. The only boxers I’d heard of were Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali. But I remember watching Sky Sports and seeing Joshua for the first time. It was his first world title fight against Charles Martin in 2016. I was like: ‘This guy is amazing. What a specimen!’
“So I did a quick Google search, found out his family are from Nigeria, he started boxing at 18 and he’s a big guy at 6ft 6in. It was like Luol Deng Part 2. Pure inspiration, a massive spark. I thought: ‘I’m going to chase this.’ I walked into Wolverhampton Amateur Boxing Club, and said: ‘I want to be a boxer.’ I had never boxed before, never done martial arts, never had a fight in school. I didn’t even know how to skip.”
How did his family feel about him boxing? “My dad wasn’t really for it,” Orie says before breaking into a wide smile. “But now he’s my No 1 fan.”
He explains that, at the same time he was “internally driven, and by my parents too”, to go to university. “I knew I wanted to study economics and I was able to get a student finance grant. That opened the door for me to go to Aston University and also then move my amateur boxing club to Birmingham where the real journey started with my first amateur fight at 19.”
Apart from winning Commonwealth gold in 2022, and at the European Games last year when he secured his Olympic qualification, Orie also has a first-class degree in economics, maths and management. “It had to be first class. That’s my mindset. I could have gone on to do a PhD but I had just got on Team GB and I had to make a decision because economics is tough. But I’m still reading a lot about economics and keeping up to date with world affairs.”
He is an ambassador for Aldi and brings a charm to his media appearances which, assuming he does well in Paris, will result in him becoming the cheerful face for many more sponsors. Orie seems settled in his personal life and he tells me happily about his partner, Sophie Rushton, with whom he lives in Birmingham. “We met at university and we’ve been together for five years. She studied psychology and she has a real passion for it and is a great help to me. Sophie is fully British. I just absolutely love and embrace that British culture – Sunday roasts, the English countryside, all of that beautiful stuff. That’s me, man!”
He is also besotted with Abba and during his workout before our interview he hits the pads hard while Dancing Queen and The Winner Takes It All resound through the deserted gym in Birmingham.
Orie is seeded No 2 for these Olympics and could be on course to face the reigning champion Bakhodir Jalolov, the giant Uzbek who, since winning gold in Tokyo, has built a flawless 14-0 record in the professional ranks. Each of those pro bouts ended in a stoppage in a sign of Jalolov’s imposing power. “He is a top, top opponent,” Orie says of Jalolov, “so I have a real competition on my hands. But it’s not just him. You’ve got the bronze medallist from Tokyo, Kamshybek Kunkabayev of Kazakhstan, and a few good Europeans and some top operators from America. But I’ve always been the underdog who has had to catch up. So it’s very familiar territory.”
Orie became close to Joshua when he joined the former world champion’s camp in 2019 and sparred with him often. “That was a fantastic experience. I wouldn’t have been inspired by boxing if I saw some brute become world champion. I couldn’t relate to that. But AJ brought professionalism and class. He spoke well and looked good. He was very approachable and sometimes he would catch me off-guard. He would ask me questions. Normally it’s the other way round but he’s been very helpful.
“They say never meet your idols, but for me he’s been a real asset. AJ tells me to stay true to myself and make sure I listen to the right people. That’s really important, especially when I win an Olympic medal, a gold medal, and things get out of hand.”
The 27-year-old laughs before becoming more serious when I ask if he is ready for the dangers and traps of professional boxing in and outside the ring. “I’ve figured it out after dabbling a bit on the pro scene. I’m definitely going to try to portray a different image. I want to appeal to the layperson, not just boxing fans because I connect with real people. I’ve had conversations with all the big promoters and I know it’s a business. I can’t wait to be involved in all of it but it’s important to take it one step at a time.”
Orie will stay rooted in the real world where the conflict between Russia and Ukraine cannot be forgotten. “I’ve given up on politics. I’m more interested in economics but we feel it personally as a family. My mum has family on both sides – obviously in Russia but she has relatives and friends in Ukraine, too. It’s ridiculous: young men on the battlefield for the sake of a few individuals in power.”
In Paris he will be bolstered by a real sense of perspective and good fortune that his singular journey has brought him instead to the Olympic Games and close to his dreams of glory. “I wouldn’t be boxing in the Olympics if I didn’t think I would win a gold medal,” Orie says with conviction. “It’s just written. I have to do it.”
