Japan-based Thai master boxer Thanongsak Simsri exposed Filipino Cristian “The Bomb” Araneta on Thursday to crown himself as the new International Boxing Federation (IBF) light-flyweight king at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

Simsri had to pick himself up from a third-round knockdown en route to a 12-round split decision by leaning on his ring savvy and taking advantage of Araneta’s wide array of glaring weaknesses.

While it was crystal clear that the Cebu-born southpaw was superior in punching power, he was obviously lacking in many vital skills needed to become a world champion.

Actually, he almost pulled it off when he delivered a thunderous left to the jaw of Simsri, whose right hand touched the floor to prevent him from totally going down.

Still, referee Katsuhiko Nakamura called it right and administered the count on Simsri, who even battled the wild-swinging Araneta in a torrid trade of power shots until the bell sounded ending the round.

Knowiing the stopping power of Araneta’s lethal left, the 24-year-old Simsri wisely moved to left the rest of the way while throwing crisp one-twos that found their target.

Araneta, who dropped to 25-3 win-loss record with 20 knockouts, was simply ill-equipped to deal with the caliber of Simsri, who didn’t only display sound fundamentals but decent power, too.

Boosting his mark to 39-1 with 34 knockouts, Simsri exploited Araneta’s inability to cut off the ring en route to the stunning split verdict that puzzled ringsiders.

The official scores read: Masakazu Murase (115-112 for Simsri), Leszek Jankowiak (114-113 for Araneta) and Koji Tanaka (116-111 for Simsri).

The win gave Simsri his eight win on Japanese soil.

As soon as the announcement was read, Simsri raised his hands in triumph while Araneta immediately turned his back and headed to his corner and exited the ring.

Araneta was attempting to join Melvin Jerusalem and Pedro Taduran as the country’s reigning world champions.

But ranged against the clever Simsri, his sheer power wasn’t enough to propel him to victory and the coveted title.

For Araneta, it’s back to the drawing board.