Ian Clark Bautista’s dream of reaching the 2020 Tokyo Games ended on Sunday (Manila time).
The 25-year-old suffered a unanimous decision loss to tormentor Chatchai-Decha Butdee of Thailand in the featherweight quarterfinals of the 2020 Asia and Oceania Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan.
Hoping lightning would strike twice after scoring a massive upset of Hayato Tsutsumi in the first round, Bautista needed to knock off a two-time Olympian, whom he last faced during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Just like last December, Butdee’s length kept Bautista at bay during the opening round.
Needing a strong output, Bautista amped up his aggressiveness in the second stanza, even winning the round in some books.
However, Butdee’s left shot proved too troublesome in the pivotal third round.
In the end, the Thai earned the nod. But unlike in the SEA Games that saw Butdee win via split decision, this time around it was unanimous across all cards.
Still alive in the tourney are Nesthy Petecio, Riza Pasuit, Eumir Marcial, Carlo Paalam, and Irish Magno.
