Keama struggled in the opening round before finding  his range, landing several decent shots on his way to claiming a spot in the gold medal contest.

It proved to be a successful day for the host nation as Australia won four of their five semi-final bouts to assert their dominance at the event, which offers boxers the opportunity to secure a quota place for the upcoming AIBA World Boxing Championships in Doha in October.

Jayden Hansen, recently crowned national champion, won his bantamweight bout with Nauru’s Matthew Martin, before Joshua Keirl eliminated Martin’s compatriot Alfonse Deireragea in the lightweight division.

The victories kept on coming for the Australians as Daniel Lewis sealed a unanimous win against New Zealand’s Daniel Parkin, while Commonwealth Games silver medallist Joseph Goodall proved too strong for Tahiti’s Ariitea Putoa at super heavyweight.

“I tried to keep the fight long on the end of my jab, and to use my feet to control the distance,” Goodall said.

“I did enjoy the bout because when you win it is always enjoyable.

“In the first round I thought I was a bit rusty, but the second round was probably my best today, while in the third round I stuck to the game plan.”

The only Australian boxer to suffer defeat on day two was flyweight Reggie Palm Island, beaten by Papua New Guinea’s Charles Keama, who was awarded the bout on all three judges’ scorecards.

New Zealand’s Patrick Mailata, a former rugby player, produced one of the performances of the day as he stopped American Samoa’s Robert Toilolo in the second round.

Boe Warawara claimed a quota place for the World Boxing Championships for Vanuatu as he swept aside Henry Umings Papua New Guinea in their bantamweight bout.

The event is due to conclude tomorrow with the finals for all weight divisions.