The 20-year-old, who became the first Pan American Games champion from his country for 40-years at the recent event on home soil, struggled early on before he began to find his rhythm, eventually progressing thanks to a split-decision win.

Biyarslanov will now go on to meet Tyrek Irby of the United States in the quarter-finals.

American Joshua Temple is through to the next round of the heavyweight division as he produced a dominant display, stopping Nicaragua’s Alvaro Mendoza early in the first round.

“My first thought after winning the bout tonight was great motivation and joy knowing I am that much closer to achieving my Olympic dream,” Temple, who competed for his country at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, said.

“My tactics were very diverse, and I give a lot of credit to my awesome corner that worked with me well in the fight to help me to accomplish the goal of winning by TKO.

“It is a great feeling to start the Championships with one of the first TKO victories.”

Elsewhere, Hector Luis Garcia of the Dominican Republic, who claimed bantamweight silver at Toronto 2015, recovered from a tricky first round before clinching a unanimous victory over Guatemala’s Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medallist Juan Reyes.

Cayman Islands’ Tafari Ebanks, a Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games quarter-finalist, is also through in the bantamweight division as he proved too strong for Trinidad and Tobago’s Jude Franklin in what was a thrilling bout.

The contest was closer than the result showed as although Ebanks was awarded the fight on all three judges’ scorecards, the Cayman Islands boxer was made to work hard by his Trinidadian opponent.

It was a successful day for the host country as 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships quarter-finalist Luis Arcon reached the last eight of the light welterweight class by beating Akiel Outram of Trinidad and Tobago.

Team-mate Endri Saavedra, a bronze medallist at Toronto 2015,  was able to fend off the challenge of Chilean Joseph Cherkashyn in the middleweight division to progress to the next phase by virtue of a unanimous success.

The event is due to continue tomorrow, where winners in the flyweight, lightweight, welterweight, light heavyweight and super heavyweight will earn themselves a guaranteed medal.

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