Unheralded underdog Retsuri Lee (AKA Ryol-Li Lee; 17-1-1, 8 KOs), 121.75, astoundingly captured the WBA super-bantam belt as he was awarded a unanimous decision over highly regarded defending champ Poonsawat Kratingdaeng-gym (41-2, 29 KOs), 122, over twelve upset rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.The official tallies were as follows: Jean-Francois Toupin (France) 115-114, Pinit Prayadsab (Thailand) 115-113 and Derek Milham (Australia) 118-110, all in favor of Lee. The referee was Kazunobu Asao (Japan). The WBA supervisor was Gualtiero Becchetti (Italy). Lee, a Japan-born Korean, kept moving and countering the aggressive champ who kept stalking the elusive target all the way. Poonsawat, making his fourth defense, failed to catch the Fancy Dan although he threw twice or thrice as many punches as the counterpunching challenger.It was an unbelievable upset since Poonsawat who had lost just once in forty-two bouts was a prohibitive favorite. His sole setback was tasted by the Thailander, then the WBA interim bantam titlist, who lost a decision to Wladimir Sidorenko in Germany in 2006. The short but sturdy champ scored seventeen wins straight since his one and only defeat, including a fine triumph by demolishing Bernard Dunn in just three rounds in Dublin, Ireland, last September. Poonsawat had gained the world belts in the bantam and super-bantam divisions to his credit.
