Matt Maher: Delicious Orie boxing clever as he targets a date in Paris

Reaching the final of the European Games tournament, which starts in Krakow this weekend, will be enough to stamp his ticket to Paris next summer.

For the past few years, that has been Orie’s sole focus, though it all could have been very different for someone who, until recently, excelled in the classroom as much as he did in the boxing ring.

When Orie graduated from Aston University with first class honours in economics and management in 2020, he had a decision to make.

“It was a tough one, genuinely,” he says. “I was quite emotionally attached to studying. It was a big part of my life. Stopping that after my degree was a big decision. But it showed how powerful boxing was to me.

“Where would I be if I’d stuck with my studies? Probably finishing my PhD. Or I might have been in Canary Wharf at an investment bank. HSBC or JP Morgan, maybe. I’d probably be very busy – busier than I am even now – but making a lot more money!”

That last sentence is said with a chuckle and while it is always fun to fantasise about what might have been, Orie has no regrets about dedicating himself solely to boxing.

“I could have done both,” the 26-year-old continues. “There are GB boxers who have done Masters degrees on the side. But I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person. My dad has a saying, that you don’t want to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. That’s always stuck with me.”

It is impossible to write about Orie without mentioning his parents, such has been their influence in shaping his character and outlook.

Nigerian-born dad Justin and Russian mum, Natalie, who moved their family from Moscow to escape racism and seek a better life when Orie was aged seven, eventually settling in Bilston, always preached the importance of working hard. It’s a lesson their son has long taken to heart.

“I love to work hard and love to show people how hard I work,” he says at one point.

Boxing provides him that platform, though his decision to take up the sport at the age of 18, inspired by watching Anthony Joshua winning the world title, was initially met with scepticism by his family.

That has evaporated over time, while Orie believes his gold medal triumph at last summer’s Commonwealth Games also helped convince a few more doubters.

“I think, after Birmingham, people are starting to see I am really serious about what I do,” he explains. “The Commonwealth Games was the first step and when I do qualify, when I do become an Olympian and represent Team GB, that is when it solidifies it. It is a message to everyone of what I am trying to achieve. Last year has put a lot more weight to my name.

“What I mean by that is, I am not temporary. I am not here just to win a few medals. I am here to be a face and part of what Team GB produce in terms of champions and also carry that on after into a professional career.

“People around me have always known I am serious and here to stay. I feel like you really start making a statement when people you don’t know start to see that.”

The European Games, then, is simply the next chance to prove himself. Orie’s late start in the sport means his learning curve has been precipitous but the bumps and bruises sustained along the way now equate to valuable experience. He’s not blind to the challenge which awaits him, starting with Sunday’s testing first round clash against Croatia’s Marko Milun, yet it should hold no surprises.

“I didn’t have my first fight till I was 19. I have always felt like I was catching up and if I am honest, I still feel a bit like that now,” he says.

“I always had to push and I’ve always been pushed. After seven years, I feel like I am coming to a point where yeah, I am still reaching and having to catch up a bit, but I feel the experience behind me now. I am mixing with some world class operators.”

Orie’s confidence is built from his dedication to his craft, as well as a faith in the GB system which has produced countless Olympic champions.

The first half of the year has been one of hectic travel and training, with camps in the USA, Kazakhstan, Italy and the Czech Republic all part of the preparation.

“I know my opposition,” he says. “If I have not sparred them or trained against them, I have definitely watched them do their thing in the flesh. I know I am well equipped for what is coming.

“I have proved myself domestically but on the world stage I am only just starting to make a name for myself.

“I want to make my name at the world level and be among those world and European medallists. That is where I believe I belong as an amateur. I still have that statement to make. The European Games will be part of that.”

In a division so storied as super heavyweight, expectations are always high. Orie is not blind to that.

In his case, they are magnified by his own journey. One of his earliest and most arduous fights was to secure the passport allowing him to represent GB as an athlete. There’s even the small matter of his meant-for-stardom moniker.

Then, eventually, you go back to that postgraduate conundrum. What do you most fancy? A career in business, or boxing?

“As soon as I made the decision, I knew there would be pressure,” he says. “You are counting on one thing to succeed.

“If people say they don’t feel pressure, they are lying. Boxing is a very, very high pressure sport.

“It is a single man sport but if you can cope with that, you can go a long way. I am doing a lot of practical things, to help me cope. I have to deal with the pressure. I know I am not going to escape it, so I might as well embrace it.”