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'It still hurts to this day' - Delicious Orie reflects on Olympic heartache ahead of professional debut

'It still hurts to this day' - Delicious Orie reflects on Olympic heartache ahead of professional debutRichard Pelham/Getty Images

Team GB star Delicious Orie has made the next big decision in his boxing career, choosing which promotion will carry his professional career. 

On this occasion, it is Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions who have managed to secure the 27-year-old's signature

For British fight fans, the name Orie will ring a bell as he was one of the big medal hopes going into the boxing tournament at last year's Olympic Games in Paris. 

Paris 2024 was one of the toughest Olympic Games in recent memory for Team GB, who won just one medal in the form of Lewis Richardson's welterweight bronze. 

After winning gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 European Games, many were expecting Orie to do big things in the French capital.

Unfortunately for Orie, he fell at the first hurdle in Paris, losing a split decision to Armenia's Davit Chaloyan in the last-16. 

For amateur boxers, their long, brutal journey is one which should culminate in Olympic glory, and speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Orie gave a raw and emotional reaction to the loss which stopped him from winning the biggest prize in this particular code. 

"I've let everybody down, I've let Great Britain down, I'm really upset.

"At the moment I feel like it's breaking me, but I think in a few years, I am a mature enough individual to look back and think I gave it my all.

"I just have to lick my wounds."

Seven months have passed since Orie's Olympic disappointment, and time can often be a healer. 

However, for Orie, the sadness of that result in Paris is one that is still prevalent and in an exclusive interview with DAZN News, he explained why he will struggle to shake off the loss to Chaloyan. 

"I think I'll be hurt forever, that doesn't mean that I'm not," he said.

"I remember that night after I lost, I went back to my room and I was thinking about all these years of sacrifice, not being there with your parents, missing weddings etc. It still hurts to this day, to be honest with you.

"So will I ever come to terms with it? I don't know."

For those who compete in the Olympics, it has become tradition that fighters would get the Olympic rings tattooed following the conclusion of the games. 

But for Orie, this is a tradition which he will not partake in, telling DAZN News that it is something which he does not deserve after failing to make an impact at Paris 2024. 

"My dream was to get an Olympic tattoo. That will never happen, because I just feel like I don't deserve it. That's not me saying I'm sad and miserable.

"It's just how I'm wired. I just think you've missed your opportunity, but it's ok. There are many more opportunities in the future."

Turning professional is an exciting chapter for Orie despite struggles to come to terms with Olympic heartache, and if he does reach the top of an exciting heavyweight division, then disappointment in the French capital could become a distant memory. 

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