I always assumed Lakva Sim was an amazing amateur or a star - like Lomachenko or Fenech - in his home country who turned pro and was rushed to a title shot ... and I just didn't know about him. He fought for a Pan-Asian title in his pro debut. He fought for the WBA Super Featherweight title in his sixth fight only 14 months after turning pro - and lost a 12-round split decision. He eventually won that WBA belt in his 13th pro fight. But I checked his amateur record, and he really never got past the quarterfinals in any major international amateur competition. In fact, in the World Amateur Championships the year he turned pro, he lost his opening bout. Later, he won a WBA lightweight title, too. But does anyone know what the story behind this two-division beltholder was? Seems like he was a WBA poster boy from his pro debut on. Did he have connections in the Mongolian mafia? He had connections with someone.
I think part of the reason he was fast tracked was because he turned pro at an older age than most Asian boxers. Plus, he had enough amateur experience to qualify for and compete in three World Championships, reaching the quarter finals in two of them. And, his attributes and style (aggressive, ultra-durable, heavy-handed stalker) meant that he'd be more suited the pro game in general. So...I suspect his management realized that Lakva was probably about as refined as he could be as a pro and didn't require that much seasoning to compete with the best fighters in his area.
I think it's more a case of being in the right place at the right time. Yong Soo Chou won the vacant belt in 1995 against Victor Paz, moving the belt to Japan/SK and defended against Orlando Soto (mandatory?). His other fights were basically against domestic guys. Sim was what was available there. Sim got a title fight in 6 fights. Choi, Hatakeyama and Baek got their title shots after about 20 fights against total nobodies. Yamato Mitani got his shot in his 9th fight. So it was a normal thing for Sim due to the lack of depth.