Two months later, Bernal successfully defended his titles in Nîmes, France, defeating Antoine Montero by an eleventh-round knockout.
This was significant because the previous six WBC Flyweight Champions had all lost their title in their first defence.
Eight months later, Bernal travelled back to Bangkok in an attempt to wrest the title from Chitalada.
Bernal had one more shot eighteen months later, travelling again to Bangkok, where on 10 December 1986 he lost another twelve-round decision to Chitalada.
On 11 April 1992 he lost a 12-round decision to former WBC Bantamweight Champion, Miguel Lora.