[3] Returning to his family's new home in Yonkers, Dodick continued fighting in local clubs, but discouraged, quit for a while to drive a truck.

[3] In a bout in which several papers wrote he deserved at least a draw, Bernstein lost to French Jewish boxer Benny Valger, a serious lightweight contender, on December 1, 1921, in a slashing twelve round-match in Yonkers, New York.

Valger would come close to winning the lightweight championship against Johnny Kilbane in 1920, and would complete his long career without a single loss by knockout.

Seven months later on December 17, 1923, in one of his first sanctioned defenses of the title, Bernstein lost to Johnny Dundee at Madison Square Garden in a highly controversial split decision.

BoxRec noted that several newspaper sources, including the prestigious New York Times, believed the judges made the wrong decision in the bout.

"[2][5][6][7] In their third and final meeting Bernstein would beat Dundee decisively on September 15, 1924, in fifteen rounds in Queensboro Stadium in Queens.

Noticing he was losing stamina in late rounds, and feeling more fatigued than usual, Bernstein sought medical treatment on the advice of his handler "Doc" Lou Hirsh at the Battle Creek Sanatorium in Michigan around 1927, taking four months off.

Bernstein's extremely rare knockout loss to Bruce Flowers on December 1, 1928, influenced his decision to leave boxing.