Delicious Orie hopes to follow in the footsteps of his idol Anthony Joshua and earn Olympic gold.

Born in Moscow to a Nigerian father and a Russian mother, Orie went to England when he was seven years old to avoid racial discrimination.

Orie will represent Great Britain in the super-heavyweight division at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

A bright student, Orie recieved A*s and As in his A-levels and went on to achieve a first class honours degree in Economics and Management at Aston University.

Orie could have become an accountant but he caught the boxing bug instead.

In 2016, the same year he started studying for his bachelor’s degree, Orie watched Joshua snatch the IBF world title from Charles Martin inside two rounds at the O2 Arena, London.

It was a light-bulb moment for Orie, who walked into a boxing gym a few days later and never looked back.

Eight years on, he is one of Team GB’s brightest young boxers having won gold at the English National Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Games.

Now, he has his eyes firmly set on adding Olympic gold to his glittering amateur résumé when he jets off to Paris with the rest of the GB squad in July.

“The Olympics is the pinnacle of amateur boxing,” the 26-year-old super-heavyweight contender told talkSPORT.com.

“I’ve been to the Worlds, Europeans and Commonwealths. They’re all very prestigious events but there is just something different about the Olympics.

Orie won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The young Brit is hoping to win Olympic gold like his idol Joshua did in 2012.

“It truly is the best of the best coming together to show the world what we are about and I can really feel that just under three months out.

“God knows what it will be like when I get there. I’m excited, I can’t wait to be a part of it all and I hope to carry on the great things that GB boxing has achieved. It would mean everything to win a gold.”

Success at the Olympics often acts as a springboard to superstardom in the paid ranks.

Olympic medallists Joshua, Amir Khan and Lauren Price have all gone on pick up world titles as professionals after fielding offers from the biggest promoters in the sport.

Orie is fully aware of the benefits that a podium finish will have on his career once he turns over. But he insists that isn’t his sole motivation.

“For me, there are two things, elevating your professional career, that is amazing,” Orie added.

“But there is something more special than that, and that is representing your country at the Olympics.

“That is an insane achievement for me, it only gets done every four years.

“There is something quite pure about Olympic boxing. It’s not the same as the professionals.

Orie looks set to turn over as a professional after the Olympics.

“In the pros, you can argue it is more about selfish reasons, and rightly so.

“It’s a capitalistic world, we all want to make money. But for me, in the amateurs, it’s all about representing Great Britain and showing what a fantastic nation it is.”

The parallels between Joshua and Orie are clear to see; both started boxing at 18 years old, both are of Nigerian descent and providing everything goes to plan in the French capital, both will have turned over as professionals straight after the Olympics.

“I feel like after the Olympics, I will be going through a different chapter in my life considering my age and everything else,” Orie continued.

“I feel like I will be going onto the next chapter in my life, which is the pro ranks.

“I don’t know if it will be immediate or anything like that because, to be honest with you, I’m not looking at anything beyond the finals of the Olympic Games.

“In my calendar, it is completely blank. Nothing else exists and it has been like that for the past couple of years.

“I will put everything into these Games and then afterwards it’s about, ‘Alright, what are we going to do and what is the plan?’.”