Boxing Olympic Qualification – Amman | Day 1 As It Happened

Welcome to live coverage of Day 1 at the Olympic Boxing Qualification event in Amman, Jordan.

You can watch it live on Olympic Channel right here.

Live Blog - Day 1 - Tuesday 3rd March

Please refresh for updates. All times UTC/GMT.

17:25 - China have another man through

Two light-heavyweight bouts to round the day off, the first between China's Daxaing Chen and Iran's Ehsan Rouzbahani.

Rouzbahani, a two-time Olympian, had five pro bouts back in 2017, before putting the vest back on. He's rugged, alright, and throws a wild right hand, as if he's throwing heavy stones. Chen takes the first round 5-0, by keeping his distance and timing his rival on the way in.

Rouzbahani knows what he has to do, make it a pub fight, but Chen is a bit too cute to be drawn in. Another sweep for Chen in round two, although his rival did land with a right on the bell. A cool performance from Chen against a furious foe, he takes a unanimous decision and will fight third seed Erkin Adylbek Uulu of Kyrgyzstan next.

Japanese middleweight Yuito Moriwaki: "Even though I won, I’m not satisfied with how I boxed. I don’t think I boxed well and I’ll be sure to do better in the next fight."

17:09 - Moriwaki wins for Japan

Two national champs in the ring next, for the final middleweight contest of the evening - Munthader Al-Farttoosi Iraq up against Japan's Yuito Moriwaki.

The towering Moriwaki's lead left is his most potent weapon], which is why he wants to keep it at long range. They didn't provide the scores at the end of round one, but I imagine Moriwaki won it. More of the same in round two and the Japanese is strolling this.

The Iraqi was a game fighter, and landed with the odd swingeing left, but couldn't put much of a dent in Moriwaki, who wins a unanimous decision. Having dispatched an Iraqi, it's an Iranian next for Moriwaki, second seed Seyedshahin Mousavi.

16:54 - China's Tanglatihan Erbieke wins through

Match seven of the evening session is China's Tanglatihan Erbieke against Pakistan's Mahmood Hassan. Hassan, 35, is a former national super-heavyweight champion, so he's dropped a fair bit of weight in recent times.

The Chinese boxer is tall and has a significant reach advantage and his rival struggles to get inside it for much of the first round. Erbieke sweeps it 5-0, including four 10-8 scores, which seems a bit harsh.

Erbieke setting up Hassan with double jabs before firing in right hands and Hassan doesn't have much of an answer in round two. Hassan receives a standing count and is in more bother towards the end of the second and it's a toss-up as to whether he'll make it the distance.

Erbieke piles it on in round three, looking like he wants to finish it early, but Hassan does have some success with a booming right hand. But it's another standing eight down the stretch and the Chinese boxer wins via unanimous decision. He will fight Thailand's Weerapon Jongjoho next.

Uzbekistan middleweight Fanat Kakhramonov: "Honestly speaking, my opponent was not strong enough and I started my training three days before the competition - that’s why it was not so easy for me as well. Today I won but next time I will try better."

16:36 - Middleweight Kim wins on points

Another middleweight bout now, Jinjea Kim of South Korea up against Tajikistan's Bakhtiyor Mirzomukhammad. Both these men fought at last year's World Championships so have plenty of experience on the world stage. Pretty even opening round, although it was the Tajik who landed with the most eye-catching shot, a solid overhand right. Kim takes it 4-1. Not sure about that.

Kim dislodges his rival's mouthpiece with a snappy right hand in round two, which seems a bit more even. And it's the South Korean who takes it 4-1 again. That makes more sense, but you have to feel a little bit sorry for the Tajik. Kim does enough in round three to take a split decision - the first questionable scoring of the day, although certainly not controversial.

Kim will fight Abilkhan Amankul of Kazakhstan, who received a first-round bye, in the second round.

16:20 - Kakhramonov breezes through

We add on a few kilos now - 12, to be exact - and welcome middleweights Hisham Elsimreen of Jordan and Fanat Kakhramonov of Uzbekistan to the ring. The Ubeks topped the medal table at Rio 2016 and last year's World Championships, and this kid looks like he can box a bit. Kakhramonov, a southpaw, likes to set traps and land with left-hand counters, which he carries like a rattlesnake. The Uzbek takes the first round across the board, including one 10-8 score.

The Jordanian has got a decent chin on him, you can say that, but Kakhramonov is not having to do a lot to win this, just biding his time and landing every now and again with that left hand. The Uzbek sweeps round two, not sure Elsimreen will see the final bell. Big respect to Elsimreen for making it the full distance and he never stopped coming forward, but it's Kakhramonov who wins an unanimous decision. He will fight Samoa's third seed Jancen Poutoa in round two and will fancy his chances.

16:03 - Phoemsap delivers boxing lesson

Another men's lightweight bout next, Fiji's Jone Davule versus Thailand's Atichai Phoemsap. Phoemsap is a former Youth Olympic Games champion and he looks a class apart in round one, which the judges award him 5-0, including a 10-8.

The Thai youngster just has too much variety and boxing intelligence for his game Fijian opponent and he takes round two easily as well, with three 10-8 scores. Davule takes a standing eight in round three and that was a boxing lesson from the Thai, who is awarded a unanimous decision, Phoemsap fights Australian second seed Harry Garside next. Could be tight.

15:50 - Ume forces win for PNG

Saudia Arabia versus Papua New Guinea in a lightweight match next - Nassim Saddiq versus John Ume. The PNG man takes round one 5-0, he's the much neater, more compact boxer.

More of the same in round two, some nice combinations from Ume and the Saudi doesn't have an answer. Ume lands with a right cross that triggers a standing eight count and there is a look of resignation from Saddiq at the end of round two, which Ume takes 5-0 again, including a 10-8.

Saddiq needing a knockout in round three, instead he gets another standing eight halfway through. And that's your lot, Ume forcing a stoppage with a little under a minute to go, courtesy of a big right hand that drops Saddiq onto the seat of his pants. Good win for the PNG man, he fights Mongolia's third seed Chinzorig Baatrarsukh next.

Philippine featherweight Ian Bautista: "I’m happy with today’s win because everything we’ve been training for I was able to show that in the ring. My coaches told me we needed to get the last round to win, and that gave me the will to win."

15:32 - Ham wins a cracker

More featherweight beef next, Chinese national champion Yong Chang versus South Korea's Sangmyeong Ham. It's Ham with the better work early on and the South Korean appears to be the slightly stronger of the two. All-action fight this, both men fancying it, but it's Ham who takes round one 4-1.

It's more of the same in round two and, again, it's Ham's shots that appear to be doing most damage. The South Korean appears to have heavy hands. And Chang has it all to do in round three... scratch that, the judges have it 3-2 to the Chinese boxer...

These two lads haven't stopped throwing and both men look exhausted in the final minute. Ham stung by an overhand right before the Chinese boxer sustains a cut next to his left eye. Proper scrap this. The doctor patches up that cut and we're back at it. Cracking finish, great fight, pick the bones out of that one. The judges have done their picking, and it's Ham who wins via a split decision. Can't argue with that.

15:17 - Bautista causes upset

Nice double-hook by Bautista, that shot looks a decent weapon. The Japanese looks the bigger man but not the stronger, and Bautista's shots are also more accurate in this first round. However, Tsutsumi does get a foothold and pips the round 3-2.

Tsutsumi trying to keep it at range in round two, which seems like a wiser plan, but that's nice work from Bautista, snapping his rival's head back with a lovely uppercut. Nice body shot from the Japanese, a former World Youth champion, and that's another tight one... Bautista takes that round 4-1, all to play for going down the stretch...

Both boxers working the body at the beginning of round three before Bautista lands with a big, looping right. Looking like the Filipino's fight, he gives his right glove a little victory rattle at the final bell, but the judges might think different... Bautista wins a split decision, he fights Thai third seed Chatchai-Decha Butdee in the next round.

14:59 - Stand by for evening session

Right, break over, the afternoon session kicks off with some men's featherweight action, in particular Ian Bautista of the Philippines versus Hayato Tsutsumi of Japan.

12:04 - One session down...

: Right, there ends an intriguing first session. We thought the standard might be a significant step up from African qualifying and so it was. There were some real classy performances this morning, with Iranian featherweight Daniyal Shabakhsh probably the standout boxer. He was very impressive in outpointing Chinese Taipei's Po-Yi Chen and his second-round opponent, fourth seed Jamie Cheng, will not sleep easy. The second session starts at 1500 UTC/GMT, with men's feather, light, middle and light-heavyweights going at it.

Indian middleweight Ashish Kumar: "I lost the first round but recovered in the second and third because of my coaches. I changed my plan and started to attack and won the fight."

11:55 - Kiwi Pampellone pips Umemura

A change of weight for the final bout of the opening session, a couple of 81kg light-heavyweights on display. New Zealand's Jerome Pampellone in the red corner, Japan's Ren Umemura in the blue. The Japanese are assured a handful of places in Tokyo, but how many depends on how many come through qualifying in Amman.

Pampellone all in black rather than red, as is a Kiwi's wont, and he dominates the first three minutes, courtesy of his quicker hands and longer reach. Umemura, who looks a bit fleshy around the waist, finding it tough out there but he manages to close the gap towards the back end of the round, land with a few hooks and nick it 3-2. All to play for in round three...

Round three is a tight one, for sure, but it's the Kiwi who wins it on a tight split decision. Pampellone will fight top seed Beksad Nurdauletov of Kazakhstan next.

11:37 - Kumar at a canter

One more middleweight fight in his morning session, Kan Chia-Wei of Chinese Taipei against Ashish Kumar, the reigning Asian Championships silver medallist. Kumar is a tall, gangly middleweight who carries his hands somewhere around his knees and he drops the first round 3-2. Not quite sure about that.

It all kicks off at the start of the second and both men start planting their feet and throwing hard as the round rolls on. Not an easy ask for Chia-Wei to get inside this albatross reach of the Indian - he ends up on his knees a couple of times - and Kumar sweeps the second round, with one judge scoring it 10-8.

Terrific third round as Chia-Wei ploughs forward but Kumar lands with a couple of juddering right hands and that has to be an Indian victory. Indeed it is, Kumar takes it via a unanimous decision and will fight fourth seed Omurbek Bekzhigit Uulu of Kyrgyzstan next. The big Indian will surely be a handful for anyone, he is a fair unit for a man weighing only 75kg.

Syrian middleweight Ahmad Ghousoon: "It means a lot for me to be here because of the situation in Syria. We are fighting outside of Syria to show the people that Syria is still here. I hope I can raise my flag in Tokyo."

11:18 - Classy Muskita marches on

Next up it's a middleweight contest between 19-year-old Maikhel Muskita of Indonesia and George Tanoa of American Samoa. It's Muskita on the front foot and southpaw Tanoa wheeling backwards and not throwing a great deal. Muskita lands with a right cross and that's reflected on the scorecards, with the teenager sweeping the board 10-9.

Flashing left hook by Muskita as he begins to demonstrate his class in round two. A slight change of momentum in round two, with Tanoa making more of an effort to come forward and Muskita, now on the back foot, picking him off on the counter and landing with another cracking left on the bell.

Muskita sweeps the second and Tanoa's corner - including Boxing Australia's moonlighting Scouse coach Kevin Smith - is unable to do anything to change his adopted charge's fortunes in round three - unanimous decision for Indonesia's Muskita, who fights New Zealand's Ryan Scaife next.

11:03 - Syrian joy

Syria's Ahmad Ghousoon up against Sri Lanka's Rumseh Wanni Arachchige next in the men's middleweight draw. Cagey first round all in all, but it's the Syrian who takes it 4-1.

Arachchige, a South Asian Games champion, finishes the second round blowing hard and his Syrian opponent gets a couple of 10-8 scorecards. A pretty comfortable unanimous win for Ghousoon and he faces Mongolia's Byamba-Erdene Otgonbaatar in round two.

Australian middleweight Kirra Ruston: "Whenever you are looking for the knockout you never get it. We stuck to a good game plan and it worked out. I’m looking forward to [facing top seed Eumir Marcial], trading gloves with the best in the world."

10:46 - Aussies have a winner

Next up we have some men's middleweights, namely Hong Kong's Kang Leong Tai and Australia's Kirra Ruston. Ruston, tall and rangy, with shoulders you could lay your dinner on, sweeps that first round across the board.

Ruston forces a standing eight at the start of the second and now comes the stoppage, Kang Leong Tai completely outgunned. Australia have their first winner of the tournament, Ruston looks a goodun.

10:35 - China's Shan forces first stoppage

Next in the ring is a men's lightweight bout between Iraq's Waheed Hayder and Jun Shan of China. Shan is the smaller man but he packs a bigger punch - two standing eights in round one and the smile on the Iraqi's face masks the fact he is being dominated.

Hayder is pretty crude and that's not great when you're up against an accurate front-foot puncher like Shan. Three 10-8 scorecards in round one and it gets worse for Hayder in round two as he wears another left-right combination and gets another standing eight.

And we have the first stoppage of the tournament - China's Jun Shan an impressive winner, he fights fourth seed Zakir Safiullin of Kazakhstan in round two.

Nepalese lightweight Sanil Shahi on his first-round win: “When you change your game plan the opponent gets confused. So I changed my game plan and I won it.“

10:24 - Nepal's Shahi wins through

Uulu of Kyrgyzstan takes round one 3-2 and it was every bit as close as that. Shahi of Nepal is a punch-picking southpaw and he grows in stature as the second round rolls on, pinging a lovely left-right-left combination off the chin of Uulu.

Good fight this, the rugged Uulu marching forward, Shahi picking him off on the counter. I thought Shahi nicked that round and the judges agree, 10-9 across the board. This is going down to the wire... Shahi's class tells in the final round, he has more variety and, indeed, more stamina, and deservedly wins it on points, unanimously. Shahi faces top seed Bakhodur Usmanov of Tajikistan in round two.

10:15 - Enter the lightweights

Onto the men's lightweights and first up it's Argen Kadyrbek Uulu of Kyrgyzstan versus Sanil Shahi of Nepal...

10:09 - Shahbakhsh razzle-dazzles

It's Iran versus Chinese Taipei up next, Daniyal Shahbakhsh versus Po-Yi Chen. It's all Shahbakhsh in the opening two rounds and Chen heads into the third with a cut on his right eyelid. Shahbakhsh, who is only 19, is a slick, rangy southpaw who could cause his second-round opponent serious problems. He'd cause just about anyone problems.

Chen properly battered as we head down the stretch but not so his Iranian opponent, who has a nice selection of shots in his armoury and could go far. Unanimous decision for Shahbakhsh, he fights Papua New Guinea's Jamie Chang, the fourth seed, in round two.

09:53 - First Indian success

It's all India in the opening round, Esenbek Uulu coming forward in straight lines and Solanki picking him off almost at will. That round unanimous across the board for the Indian, with one judge scoring it 10-8.

Esenbek Uulu's face reddening as the second progresses before his mouthpiece is dislodged by a thudding right hand. Esenbek Uulu seems to decide that his only hope is to wade forward and trade, but it's Solanki who gets the better of some eyecatching exchanges and it's another unanimous round for the Indian.

Esenbek Uulu employing a lot of forearm at the start of the third but he is unable to impose himself and India's Solanki takes it across the board again. Unanimous decision for India's Solanki, who faces top seed Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov in round two, the Uzbek and reigning world champion having received a bye.

09:39 - The men enter the fray

That's your lot, women-wise, for the opening day. Next up is a featherweight contest between Akylbek Esenbek Uulu of Kyrgyzstan and Gaurav Solank of India...

09:35 - Game over for Micronesia

Bit more craft in this second contest, two experienced operators unlucky to have drawn each other in the first round. Mirzaeva, hands low-slung, finishes the round on the front foot and it's the Uzbek who takes it across the board 10-9.

Mirzaeva, a flyweight in Rio, really getting on top in the second and Chieng is given a standing eight count after wearing a few too many stiff jabs. The Uzbek sweeps the second round as well, meaning the Micronesian requires a stoppage in the third. Another standing eight for Chieng with about a minute left in the third - only four allowed in women's amateur boxing - and that's your lot, a comfortable win for Mirzaeva of Uzbekistan, via unanimous decison. She will fight featherweight second seed Yu-Ting Lin on Wednesday and might cause her a few issues.

09:22 - Micronesia's lone competitor

Jennifer Chieng is in the ring next, resides in New York but now Micronesia's only boxer in Amman. She boxed at Rio 2016, as did her opponent Yodgorov Mirzaeva of Uzbekistan. Could be a decent scrap...

09:18 - Sri Lanka win the opener

Lankapurayalage, a four-time Sri Lankan champion, comes out firing and Ratu seems on the verge of taking a standing count before her headguard needs adjusting. Not much in the way of defence going on in this tournament opener and Lankapurayalage continues to have the better of some enthusiastic exchanges in the second.

However, the judges have the first two rounds split, both 3-2 to the Sri Lankan, which sets up a more interesting third and final round than I thought. It's Ratu who finishes the bout the fresher but it's Lankapurayalage who gets the 4-1 split decision, deservedly so in my opinion. Decent start, the Sri Lankan fights top featherweight seed and world champion Nesthy Petecio tomorrow.

09:03 - First fighters up

Right, we have our first boxers in the ring in Amman and it's a first-round women's featherweight contest, Sri Lanka's Krismi Lankapurayalage versus Silpa Ratu of Indonesia. The winner will have the dubious pleasure of facing top seed and world champion Nesthy Petecio. Under way...

08:51 - Some rules

Both men and women will box three three-minute rounds in this qualification tournamen and there are five ringside judges, who will use the '10-point must system' to decide the winner - in other words, each round is scored 10-9 or 10-8 or 10-7 for the more dominant boxer, depending on how dominant they were.

A decision can either be unanimous (5-0), a majority (4-1), split (3-2), or draw (2-2-1, 2-1-2, or 1-1-3).

08:21 - Almost ready to rumble

We've got 11 bouts in the first session, kicking off with two women's featherweight (57kg) matches. First in the ring are Krismi Lankapurayalage of Sri Lanka and Indonesia's Silpa Ratu. The winner of this one will box top seed Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines in the second round, the reigning world champion having been given a bye.

Good day and welcome to day 1 of the Asia/Oceania Olympic boxing qualifying tournament from Amman, Jordan.

A cast of hundreds at Prince Hamzah Hall will spend the next nine days scrapping for 63 spots at this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo - 41 for the men, 22 for the women. The men will compete across eight weight classes, from flyweight (52kg) to super-heavyweight (+91kg), while the women will compete across five, from flyweight (51kg) to middleweight (75kg).

We've got 21 bouts on the opening day - first-round matches for men's and women's featherweights (57kg), as well as men's lightweights (63kg), middleweights (75kg) and light-heavyweights (81kg).

You can find the full schedule of day 1 bouts below, along with full details of how you can watch and follow the action, catch up on highlights, and get involved in our special Live Shows right here on Olympic Channel.

How to qualify in Amman:

There are 63 places at the Tokyo Olympics available in Jordan – 41 for men and 22 for women.

In the men's light-heavyweight and heavyweight categories and women's featherweight to middleweight categories, any boxer who reaches the semi-finals qualifies for Tokyo. In the men's welterweight to light-heavyweight categories, there will be a box-off for one extra spot. In the men's flyweight to lightweight categories and women's flyweight category, there will be box-offs for two extra spots.

There will be one more chance to qualify for Tokyo 2020 at a world qualifying event in Paris in May.

Day 1 Schedule - Tuesday 3 March 2020

Morning session, 11:00 (local time)

1. Women's Feather (54-57kg)

Krismi LANKAPURAYALAGE (Sri Lanka) v Silpa LATU (Indonesia)

2. Women's Feather (54-57kg)

Yodgoroy MIRZAEVA (Uzbekistan) v Jennifer CHIENG (Micronesia)

3. Men's Feather (52-57kg)

Akylbek ESENBEK UULU (Kyrgyzstan) v Gaurav SOLANKI (India)

4. Men's Feather (52-57kg)

Daniyal SHAHBAKHSH (Iran) v Po-Yi CHEN (Chinese Taipei)

5. Men's Light (57-63kg)

Argen KADYRBEK UULU (Kyrgyzstan) v Sanil Shahi (Nepal)

6. Men's Light (57-63kg)

Hayder KARAAWI (Iraq) v Jun SHAH (China)

7. Men's Middle (69-75kg)

Leong Tai KAN (Hong Kong) v Kirra RUSTON (Australia)

8. Men's Middle (69-75kg)

Ahmad GHOUSOON (Syria) v Rumesh WANINI ARACHCHIGE (Sri Lanka)

9. Men's Middle (69-75kg)

Maikhel MUSKITA (Indonesia) v George TANOA (American Samoa)

10. Men's Middle (69-75kg)

Chia-Wei KAN (Chinese Taipei) v Kumar ASHISH (India)

11. Men's Light-heavy (75-81kg)

Jerome PAMPELLONE (New Zealand) v Ren UMEMURA (Japan)

Evening session, 17:00 (local)

12. Men's Feather (52-57kg)

Ian BAUTISTA (Philippines) v Hayato TSUTSUMI (Japan)

13. Men's Feather (52-57kg)

Yong CHANG (China) v Sangmyeong HAM (Republic of Korea)

14. Men's Light (57-63kg)

John UME (Papua New Guinea) v Nassim SADDIQ (Saudi Arabia)

15. Men's Light (57-63kg)

Jone DAVULE (Fiji) v Atichai PHOEMSAP (Thailand)

16. Men's Middle (69-75kg)

Hisham ELSIMREEN (Jordan) v Fanat KAKHRAMONOV (Uzbekistan)

17. Men's Middle (69-75kg)

Jinjea KIM (Republic of Korea) v Bakhtiyor MIRZOMUKHAMMAD (Tajikistan)

18. Men's Middle (69-75kg)

Tanglatihan TUOHETA ERBIEKE (China) v Mahmood HASSAN (Pakistan)

19. Men's Middle (69-75kg)

Munthadher AL-FARTTOOSI (Iraq) v Yuito MORIWAKI (Japan)

20. Men's Light-heavy (75-81kg)

Daxaing CHEN (China) v Ehsan ROUZBAHANI (Iran)

21. Men's Light-heavy (75-81kg)

Navosa IOATA (Tuvalu) v Paulo AOKUSO (Australia)

Stay with Olympic Channel for all the action on the road to Tokyo 2020.