NZ amateur boxer David Nyika has won through to the final of the Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifying tournament in Jordan.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games heavyweight champion beat third-seeded Uzbekistan slugger Sanjar Tursunov to book a place in Wednesday night's final.
Nyika, who has trained with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, will meet Olympic silver medallist and tournament top seed Vassiliy Levit from Kazakhstan.
The Kiwi has already qualified for the heavyweight tournament in Tokyo, but will earn a higher seeding, if he beats Levit in the three-round final.
Nyika, 24, has resisted the temptation to turn professional, so he can chase his Olympic dream, after failing to qualify four years ago.
The Hamilton native is a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, winning the light heavyweight tournament, as an 18-year-old, at Glasgow 2014.
