Ian Clark Bautista pulled the rug from under multi-titled Japanese Hayato Tsutsimi with a split decision victory to enhance his chances of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the Asiana and Oceania Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament on Tuesday at the Prince Hamzah Sports City in Amman, Jordan.
The 25-year-old Bautista escaped with scores of 29-28, 28-29, 30-27, 28-29, 29-28 in his men’s featherweight clash with the former International Boxing Association youth world champion.
Bautista, a 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) gold medalist, will next face Thailand’s Chatchai Butdee, the No. 3 in the division.
“I really focused on this fight. The Japanese is strong and skillful,” said Bautista, who will be out to avenge his loss to Butdee in last December’s 30th SEA Games.
Baustista and Tsutsumi battled on even terms in the first two rounds with the Japanese utilizing his reach advantage with his jabs.
But Bautista countered every punch Tsutsumi threw at him, scoring accurate and aggressive hits in succeeding rounds.
Head Coach Ronald Chavez said that if his boxer from Negros Occidental fights the way he did against the Japanese, he could dispose of the Thai, a former Olympian.
World women’s featherweight champion Nesthy Petecio will face Sri Lanka’s Kirismi Langkapurayalage and Riza Pasuit will battle Saya Hamamoto of Japan on Wednesday.
The tournament ends on March 11. It was supposed to be held in Wuhan, China, in February but was brought to Jordan because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Also seeking Tokyo 2020 berths are world middleweight silver medalist Eumir Felix Marcial, flyweight Carlo Paalam, light welterweight James Palicte and flyweight Irish Magno.
A total of 221 male and female boxers from 35 countries are entered in the qualifiers.
Chavez is the men’s head coach, while Reynaldo Galido subbed for Head Coach Nolito Velasco in the women’s side. They are assisted by Roel Velasco and Elmer Pamisa, and foreign consultant former Australian Head Coach Don Abnett.
Those who fail to qualify in the tournament will have a last chance in May at the World Qualifiers in Paris, France.