Benjamin Whittaker provided Great Britain with another entry in the Round of 16 after outpointing two-time Olympic participant Jorge Luis Vivas (Colombia). Whittaker won by scores of 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, while judge Radoslav Simon (Slovakia) had Vivas winning 29-28 on the dissenting card.

Imam Khataev kept the momentum going for independent Olympic team ROC, blowing past Morocco's Mohamed Assaghir to win via RSC (Referee Stops Contest) in the third round.

Khataev was credited with knockdowns in all three rounds. Assaghir was issued two standing eight counts in the opening round, was forced to a knee in round two and issued two more counts in the final frame before the bout was stopped at 1:30 of round three. 

A far tougher test awaits Khataev, who next faces Bekzad Nurdauletov (Kazakhstan), the number-one seed at light heavyweight. They will meet Wednesday, July 28.

Mohammed Houmri (Algeria) moves on to the second round following a split decision win over Nalek Korbaj (Venezuela).

The bout was as competitive as the scores were varied, with Korbaj pitching a shutout (30-27) on the card of USA judge Andrew Mustacchio and winning 29-28 on a second card. They were overruled by scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Houmri, who next faces number-three seed Arlen Lopez (Cuba). 

Luka Plantic (Croatia) and Odai Riyad Adel Alhindawi (Jordan) engaged in an awkward battle which made things difficult for the judges and for USA referee Beau Campbell. In the end, it was Plantic who prevailed by split decision to advance. 

Alhindawi won by scores of 29-26 on two cards, overruled by scores of 29-26, 29-26 and 28-27 for Plantic in a fight where both boxers were deducted one point for excessive roughhousing in round two. Plantic will next face Mexico's Rogelio Romero.

Dilshod Ruzmetov (Uzbekistan) rode a strong start all the way to the finish line in eliminating Emmet Brennan (Ireland) from competition. Ruzmetov won on all five scorecards (30-27. 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28) to advance to the Round of 16 where he next faces number-two seed Alfonso Dominguez (Azerbaijan).

Daxiang Chen (China) worked hard to get past Shabbos Negmatulloev (Tajikistan). Scores suggested an easier time than was actually the case, as Chen won  30-26, 29-27, 29-27 and 29-27 with judge Yaroslav Renev (Russia) scoring the contest 28-28 even.

Negmatulloev was deducted one point in round two for roughhousing tactics, though it proved inconsequential in the end. Meanwhile, Chen will face Keno Machado (Brazil) in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, July 28.

The light heavyweight bracket is one of three on the men's side to not feature a representative from the United States. The last American boxer to appear on this stage was Marcus Browne, who lost to Australia's Damien Hooper in the opening round of the 2012 London Olympics.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for @BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox