Delante 'Tiger' Johnson once again roars.

The Cleveland native becomes the first member of the 2020 U.S. Olympic boxing team to advance to the quarterfinal round. The win came in a hard-fought split decision over Kazakhstan's Ablaikhan Zhussupov in the Round of 16 at welterweight Tuesday evening at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo.

Zhussupov was a 29-28 winner on the card of the judge from Uganda, overruled by scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28 in favor of Johnson who gives the U.S. team its sixth consecutive win in Tokyo. 

Johnson survived a stiff test in the opening round, barely edging Argentina's Brian Agustin Arregui who brought his pro style to Tokyo. The win saw Johnson have to survive a knockdown in order to prevail.

On Tuesday, it was about landing one or two more punches when it mattered most. 

Zhussupov was making his first appearance of the tournament, having received a bye in the opening round. The Kazakh southpaw came out aggressive, while Johnson looked to box from the outside. The styles clash made for an interesting opening round, if not a particularly active one. 

It was also a frame that saw Johnson have to dig his way out of an early hole, as he trailed on three of the five scorecards. A couple of key adjustments saw Johnson throw—and occasionally land—first on a couple of key exchanges to win on four of the five scorecards, with Zhussupov not leading on any of the cards to that point. 

With the third round up for grabs, Johnson effectively fought in accordance with the three key points of amateur scoring criteria—quality blows; technical & tactical domination; and competitiveness. 

Zhussupov's inability to take the lead in any of those three areas ultimately cost him the fight. Johnson burst into roar in celebration as he is now one win away from being guaranteed at least bronze.

Johnson will now go on to face Cuba's Roniel Iglesias, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a split decision win over Japan's Sewonrets Okazawa. Their bout takes place Thursday evening local time. 

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox