Team GB’s medal-laden super-heavyweight success ended controversially after Delicious Orie was ruled out of the Olympics.
Orie was bidding to become GB’s sixth super-heavy medallist in seven Games but lost to Armenia’s Davit Chaloyan in a controversial decision.
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It means that for the first time in a decade Team GB have not won a super-heavyweight medal – and there is now talk of Orie turning professional.
But it has had varying degrees of success, from boxing superstardom to reality TV shows, and has also had failures to live up to the hefty billing.
Audley Harrison, Sydney 2000
Harrison became G.B.’s first super-heavyweight gold medallist in Australia and returned home a hero.
Promoters queued up to sign him pro and he soon had a £1million deal with the BBC to show his first ten fights.
And he got off to a great start with 19 consecutive wins over five years – until he faced Danny Williams for the Commonwealth title.
Williams – who had stunned Mike Tyson the previous year and who was bereft of his fitness – won the fight by split decision.
Harrison was then defeated by Dominick Guinn in his very next fight, putting his career in jeopardy.
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In the years that followed, his world title aspirations were dashed by inconsistent form.
He then competed in a domestic bout with David Haye in 2010, but lost in three rounds – by just 1.5 seconds. Two Punches.
A year after this infamous loss, Harrison appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, where he was eliminated in the seventh round.
Harrison’s boxing career ended tragically in 2013 with a loss to future heavyweight champion and star Deontay Wilder.
A year later, he starred in Celebrity Big Brother alongside boxing promoter Kellie Maloney (formerly Frank).
Harrison joined Celebrity MasterChef in 2016 and now spends his time as an occasional boxing pundit and professional poker player.
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David Price, Beijing 2008
The 6ft 8in giant from Liverpool outclassed a young Tyson Fury and became one of the only players to have beaten the Gypsy King in the boxing ring.
Price won bronze in China and turned professional with high hopes – but predictions from future champion Tony Bellew didn’t help him much.
Bellew told iFL TV in 2012: “David Price is the heir to the Klitschko throne.”
Price, Fury and Wilder were touted as the successors to Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, but only two of them made it.
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Because Fury beat Wladimir in 2015 and Wilder also won the WBC belt that same year, Price was left behind.
He lost twice to Tony Thompson in 2013 – after the American tested positive for a banned substance.
Price had a big fight with Joshua in 2017 and revealed he knocked down a young AJ in sparring.
Joshua admitted the story was true, but the fight never happened and Price was knocked out by Christian Hammer and Alexander Povetkin.
His career ended badly after a defeat to Derek Chisora in 2019 – Price spent his retirement supporting his beloved Reds.
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Anthony Joshua, 2012 London
Joshua came second at the World Championships in 2011 but ran into legal trouble that same year.
He avoided prison for drug offences and turned his life around to qualify for the London Olympics – which is where AJ’s road to stardom began.
Joshua won gold on home soil and was immediately snapped up by then-up-and-coming promoter Eddie Hearn.
Within four years he was the heavyweight champion and one of Britain’s biggest stars.
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Joshua is a two-time unified world champion and will return for his third bout against Daniel Dubois on September 21.
His career as an award winner has seen him earn over $100 million. £200 million,
Away from the ring, Joshua has sponsorship deals with Under Armour, Hugo Boss and Lucozade.
and as of 2022, he was still training at Team GB’s Sheffield training headquarters.
Joe Joyce, 2016 Rio
Joyce took up boxing at the age of 22 after growing up as a talented track and field athletics athlete.
But he adapted well to the sport and used his towering height of 6ft 6in to win national titles and make the 2016 Olympic team.
And Joyce was looking to match AJ’s record but lost the final to France’s Tony Yoka in a controversial decision.
The defeat is one of the matches being investigated amid allegations of corrupt scoring.
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Nevertheless, Joyce turned professional in 2017 at the age of 31 and moved up the ranks with big wins against Dubois and Joseph Parker.
But consecutive losses to China’s No. 20 heavyweight Zhilei Zhang left her career in limbo.
Joyce picked up a tough win over Kash Ali, but then lost to British veteran Derek Chisora.
Despite three losses in four, Joyce indicated he would continue to play after previously saying he might retire.
Fraser Clark, Tokyo 2021
Clarke may have thought his Olympic dream would never come true.
He first became a GB boxer in 2009 but was overlooked for Joshua in 2012 and then lost to Joyce four years later.
Clarke – who used to work security for Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing bouts – was eventually called up for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
But disaster struck again as the coronavirus pandemic destroyed the Games and possibly Clarke’s hopes.
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Clarke kept at it and eventually made it to Japan and returned with a silver medal, before turning professional in 2022 at the age of 30.
Read more at The Scottish Sun
He is currently undefeated in nine fights and will take part in one of the best fights of the year in 2024.
Clarke played 12 tough and exciting rounds with Fabio Wardley in March – sparking demand for an anticipated rematch.
