Delicious Orie was left heartbroken after a controversial decision that could spell the end for Olympic boxing. The British super-heavyweight contender lost on a split decision to Armenia’s Davit Chaloyan, leaving him devastated he tried to comprehend the outcome at the North Paris Arena.
Judges Carl Ruhen (Australia), Holger Kussmaul (Germany) and Geir Dahlen (Norway) inexplicably decided that Orie, 27, landed fewer punches and fewer significant hits than Chaloyan. Their decision is a disgrace.
Olympic boxing has long been plagued by poor scoring, but rulings like this make a compelling case for its elimination.
Orie, from Wolverhampton, expressed his disbelief: “I can’t believe it myself, I’m absolutely gutted, but I have to take it in the chin and move on.”
He added: “For the past eight years I’ve always dreamed about winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games and now it’s been taken away from me. I just feel like I’ve let myself and my family down.”
The 27-year-old arrived in Paris with high hopes of a medal after securing gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and triumphing again a year later at the European Games. Orie continued: “I can’t believe it because I’m sure I did enough. It’s too soon for me to start saying it’s unfair although I do feel hard done by, and it was the same for Charley and Rosie. But this leaves a sour taste.”
Outrage erupted among fight fans as they witnessed what many are calling a blatant miscarriage of justice in the Olympic boxing ring: “This is completely disgusting. Team GB need to lodge a complaint. There is absolutely no way in hell that Delicious Orie lost that fight,” vented one irate fan on social media.
Another incensed viewer took to Twitter, exclaiming: “Delicious Orie did not lose that fight. What a robbery,” while another chimed in with: “Absolute robbery in the Olympic boxing. Delicious Orie was screwed over big time.”
The sentiment was echoed by yet another spectator who lamented: “Delicious Orie has just been robbed at the Olympics. Dreadful judging. Absolutely dreadful.”
IFL TV didn’t hold back their thoughts to their 194k followers, blasting out: “Delicious Orie has just been robbed against Davit Chaloyan. That’s an absolute disgrace.”
Team GB’s super-heavyweight boxers have a storied legacy of success, with medals in five of the last six Olympics leading up to Paris. Notably, Audley Harrison and Anthony Joshua clinched gold in 2000 and 2012, Joe Joyce secured silver in 2016, and both David Price (2008) and Frazer Clarke (2020) earned bronze.
Orie, inspired by his idol Joshua, was aiming for gold in Paris and had ambitions of turning professional swiftly after the games, having already sparred in AJ’s camp.
Before the Olympics, Orie shared his aspirations, stating: “Going pro is the natural step for me and I feel it will be my time then to move on to the next chapter.”
