Gabriel Bernal (24 March 1956-June 12, 2014) was a Mexican

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He was the WBC and Lineal Flyweight Champion for six months in 1984 and a super champion in the ring in the 1970s.

Pro career

Bernal came from Cruz Grande, Mexico. He was a top-ten Flyweight contender when he went to Tokyo to face the hometown favorite Koji Kobayashi for the WBC, ''The Ring'' and Lineal Flyweight Championships. Bernal would defeat Kobayashi by second-round knockout. 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. Bernal is remembered for his series of fights with

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Sot Chitalada Sot Chitalada ( th, สด จิตรลดา, ), born as Chaovalit Wongcharoean ( th, เชาวลิต วงศ์เจริญ; ; 5 May 1962, in Chonburi, Thailand) was formerly twice WBC and Lineal Flyweight Champion, having defen ...

. For Bernal's second defense, he went to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

to face Chitalada. He lost a twelve-round decision on 8 October 1984. Eight months later, Bernal travelled back to Bangkok in an attempt to wrest the title from Chitalada. On 22 June 1985, Bernal fought Chitalada to a draw after twelve rounds, and Chitalada kept the title. 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. It was his final attempt to win the Flyweight title. Bernal fought for another six years, but was never the same fighter. On 11 April 1992 he lost a 12-round decision to former WBC

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

Champion, Miguel Lora. He fought once more before retiring, finishing his career with a record of 43-14-3 and 28 KOs.

References

External links

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Gabriel Bernal - CBZ Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernal, Gabriel 1956 births 2014 deaths Boxers from Guerrero Flyweight boxers World boxing champions World flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Council champions Mexican male boxers Southpaw boxers

Pro career

See also

References

External links