Delicious Orie wins to take another step closer to Paris dream
Bilston boxing ace Delicious Orie is just two wins from booking his place at next summer’s Olympics after advancing to the European Games quarter-finals.
The 26-year-old super heavyweight scored a unanimous points win over Norway’s Omar Shiha on Tuesday and now faces Armenia’s Davit Chaloyan in the last-eight in Krakow on Wednesday night.
With a place at Paris 2024 awarded to both finalists in the tournament, the stakes are getting higher but after coming through a tough first round test against Croatia’s Marko Milun on Sunday, Orie showed signs of finding his rhythm against the game Shiha.
The Norwegian actually started the brighter and enjoyed some early success with two right hands which breached his opponent’s defences.
But Orie did not panic and after doing enough to take the first round on four of the five judges’ scorecards, took control from the second round onwards.
He landed the most telling blow of the night with a powerful right which sent Shiha stumbling back toward the ropes and led to the referee administering a standing eight count. By the third round his opponent appeared content to hold with Orie taking a clean sweep on four of the five scorecards.
“I’m one step closer to my dream,” he said afterward. “I’m one step closer to representing Team GB. I’m going to rest up and go again tomorrow.”
