Riza Pasuit advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2020 Asia and Oceania Olympic Boxing Qualifiers after escaping with a split decision win against Japan’s Saya Hamamoto, Wednesday evening (Manila time) at the Prince Hamzeh Hall, Sport City in Amman, Jordan.
The 26-year-old Filipina dominated the first two rounds, sticking close to her much-taller opponent.
Headgear problems plagued Pasuit in the third round, though, resulting in Hamamoto landing a huge overhand right. Pasuit was able to recover to close out the round strong.
Pasuit will next face Wu Shih-Yi of Chinese-Taipei.
During the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Pasuit settled for silver.
