Team GB’s boxing programme is the stuff of legend.
From Audley Harrison through Anthony Joshua to Lauren Price, the ‘Lions Den’ in Sheffield has produced a steady stream of fighting talent, ready to take on the world. A new generation is preparing to make their mark at Paris 2024, hoping to follow the well-worn path from amateur success to professional domination. Five boxers have already qualified named quota places for this summer's Games, with further final opportunities to qualify coming at the second Olympic qualification tournament in Bangkok from 23 May to 3 June.
Delicious Orie: men’s superheavyweight
Age: 26
Hometown: Bilston, Wolverhampton
IG: deliciousboxing
Born in Moscow to a Nigerian father and Russian mother, Delicious Orie’s family moved to the UK to escape racism and to seek a better life when he was seven. He is a A*A student at A-Level and holds a first-class honours degree in Business and Management.
Comparisons with Anthony Joshua are proving hard to avoid. Orie and Joshua have sparred together, and both came to boxing very late, with Orie starting aged 18, as well as sharing Nigerian heritage. Orie confirmed his talent and secured a quota place for Paris with gold at the 2023 European Games.
Rosie Eccles: women's welterweight
Age: 27
Hometown: Cardiff
IG: rosieeccles1996
Rosie Eccles snuck out of the house in the early hours of the morning to box when she was 16 in a bid to overcome the barriers she faced as a woman in the sport.
She joined the GB Boxing programme in 2018 and has battled a series of setbacks to secure an Olympic spot. Eccles caught Covid-19 on three occasions and also suffered significant nerve damage which kept her out of the ring for a period of time. Eccles won bronze at the European Games to secure her spot and achieve her Olympic dream.
Charley Davison: women's bantamweight
Age: 30
Hometown: Lowestoft
Tokyo Olympian Charley Davison balances boxing with being a mum to three young children. Davison had a glittering junior career but stepped away from the sport for seven years from the age of 19 to start a family.
She hit the ground running on her return in 2018 and fought through the Covid-19 pandemic to make her Olympic debut in Tokyo, where she reached the second round. Davison qualified for a ‘last shot’ at the Olympics with a podium finish at the European Games.
Chantelle Reid: women's middleweight
Age: 26
Hometown: Derby
IG: miss_reidx
Chantelle Reid won European gold and world bronze as a junior. Seemingly on the path to stardom, a degenerative disc disease in her back kept her away from the sport for six years.
Inspired by sparring partner Price, Olympic champion in her weight category, Reid’s second chance in the sport has been a runaway success. She impressed at last year’s National Championships and was invited into the Lions Den, impressing with bronze at the World Boxing Open in Sheffield. Reid got the job done at the first Olympic qualification event in Italy in March, booking a Paris spot with 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan’s Aziza Zokirova.
Patrick Brown: men's heavyweight
Age: 24
Hometown: Manchester
IG: patbrown__
Patrick Brown grew up idolising Ricky Hatton – now the boxer has dreams of ring glory of his own. Like Hatton, Brown started his career at Sale West, with his dad Mike now running the club where the Hitman honed his craft.
Brown’s path to the top has gone quicker than expected, the 24-year-old having only made it to GB Boxing’s top squad in the last couple of years. Brown claimed a unanimous win over Poland’s Mateusz Bereznicki at the first Olympic qualifier to bag a quota place.
Sportsbeat 2024