Wanheng Menayothin retained the WBC strawweight title for the third time with a ninth round technical knockout of overmatched Korean Young Gil Bae on Tuesday in Chonburi, Thailand.

Bae, 36, seemed an unusual choice for a strawweight title fight, having fought as a flyweight primarily with no record on BoxRec.com of having made the 105-pound limit in his career. Somehow he was installed as the WBC’s NO. 9 contender. It came as only a minor surprise then that Bae missed weight by coming in at 106.5 pounds the day before at the weigh-in.

The action was a walk in the park for Menayothin (40-0, 15 knockouts) once the bell rang, as the 30-year-old champion used his superior jab to feel out the taller Bae (26-5-1, 21 KOs) before committing to combinations in round four.

Bae, a 14-year pro veteran, seemed intent on earning a win over THE RING’s No. 3-ranked strawweight, even if he couldn’t earn the belt. Bae came forward almost out of habit but the gap in technical ability was written all over his face in blood and swelling.

Menayothin scored the fight’s only knockdown in round nine on a compact right hand and followed up with a flurry that convinced the referee to stop the fight later that round. As is common on some international broadcasts, the time of stoppage was not immediately made known.

The loss snaps Bae’s 17-fight win streak.

Menayothin, who won the title in Nov. of 2014 with a ninth round stoppage of Mexico’s Oswaldo Novoa, ranks behind No.2 Katsunari Takayama and No. 1 Hekkie Budler in THE RING’s 105-pound ratings.