GB Boxing will return from the European Games 2023 in Poland with four medals and three boxers qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after a dramatic final day of action saw Delicious Orie crowned super-heavyweight (92kg+) champion in the last bout of the competition.
Competing in the Team GB vest, Orie defeated Azerbaijan’s Mahammed Abdullayev by a unanimous decision to win the gold and maintain Great Britain’s superb record in the super-heavyweight division, where it has won a medal at each of the last four Olympic Games.
Orie’s performance in Poland means he has secured a place at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris where he will be joined by bantamweight (54kg), Charley Davison, and welterweight (66kg), Rosie Eccles, who both won bronze medals in their respective weight categories.
Sunderland’s Kiaran MacDonald also won a bronze medal in the men’s flyweight (51kg) category, however this was not enough to secure qualification for Paris as only two Olympic places were on offer in his weight class.
Two further Olympic qualification events will be held in the early part of 2024 when MacDonald and his colleagues in the GB Boxing will have the opportunity to secure a place in Paris. The 10 weight classes where boxers still have an opportunity to qualify to represent Team GB in Paris are:
MEN: flyweight (51kg); featherweight (57kg); light-welterweight (63.5kg); light-middleweight (71kg); light-heavyweight (80kg) and heavyweight (92kg)
WOMEN: light-flyweight (50kg); featherweight (57kg); lightweight (60kg) and middleweight (75kg)
Orie’s victory makes him the second British super-heavyweight to stand on top of the podium at the European Games after Joe Joyce won gold at Baku in 2015. Other previous European Games gold medallist from the GB Boxing squad include Nicola Adams from 2015 and Lauren Price and Pat McCormack from 2019 in Minsk. Every one of those boxers subsequently went on to win gold or silver at the following Olympic Games.
Delicious Orie said: “It means everything to me. I got the qualification the other day and now the icing on the cake, a gold medal. I can’t put it into words what I’ve achieved. I don’t know what to say except hard work pays off.
“It has not come easy. I have had five fights against some top guys and it’s only given me more confidence. I know people will expect me to do the same at the Olympic Games, and I’ve got a year now to polish my skills, get better and keep building momentum.
“A couple of years ago if someone would have told me I’d have achieved all this I’d have told them it was a huge ask but getting on GB Boxing and seeing the level of boxers they have produced and the medals they have won really cemented the confidence with in me.
“I believe in myself. I believe in the coaches and I believe in GB Boxing. And as a result we’re winning more medals.
“I hope that this will inspire the next generation. The next super-heavyweight or next female champion, whoever it is, to go out there and dominate the scene. That’s what this is all about.
Summing-up the performance of the team at the European Games, GB Boxing’s Performance Director Rob McCracken said: “The European Games has provided valuable experience for our team of boxers. There have been some really good performances, especially from our four medallists, and there are others who didn’t get to the medal stages who have shown real potential at this level.
“It’s great for GB Boxing that Charley has become a two-time Olympian after some good performances. Likewise, Rosie has boxed very well to secure her place at Paris 2024. Delicious has also done exceptionally well to come through five contests against top opponents to secure qualification and win a gold medal. Kiaran has also done well to earn a medal and it’s unfortunate he couldn’t qualify on this occasion, but this experience will stand him in good stead as we look ahead to next year.
“The four medals are a great achievement and a solid indicator of where the squad is at in the current cycle and with two more qualifying opportunities around the corner, we now look forward to working with the rest of the squad with the aim of fulfilling their potential and securing more Olympic quota places.”