Alex Dilmaghani vs. Samir Ziani - 5 September 2020

[punchers chance]

Alex gave his all in a great fight. He has shown he belongs at this level & I wish him all the best going forward from here.

But my take on the fight was that I had Ziani was 6-5 up going into the last. I think the judge who only gave the champion four of the 11 rounds was straying into home town decision territory.

[Offthehook]

Alex gave his all in a great fight. He has shown he belongs at this level & I wish him all the best going forward from here.

But my take on the fight was that I had Ziani was 6-5 up going into the last. I think the judge who only gave the champion four of the 11 rounds was straying into home town decision territory.

I appreciate that, and your comment, as i say it may have looked different on tv, so i cant comment, and thats fine if it did. But ringside wise, u couldnt find anyone having ziani up, including his team. Alex will always be in great fights, and he showed a slick style this fight, but hes aggressive, he wont potshot and run, people turn on the tv to see professional boxing, not point scoring. The power thing someone mentioned is silly. Ziani, parlagi, fonseca....these arent guys who go over. Ziani put commey over in the 4th round, and walked him down the whole fight....is commey powder puff puncher too? The body work is intentional, to slow the guy down, and it did at times, problem is he gets 2nd and 3rd winds. I think losing a fight he was ahead of going into the 12 to the european champ shows hes above the zelfas etc, and hes at the level of ward etc, which too me are world level. he will come back again, and knowing him with another ranked guy.

[jonp]

Alex gave his all in a great fight. He has shown he belongs at this level & I wish him all the best going forward from here.

But my take on the fight was that I had Ziani was 6-5 up going into the last. I think the judge who only gave the champion four of the 11 rounds was straying into home town decision territory.

I appreciate that, and your comment, as i say it may have looked different on tv, so i cant comment, and thats fine if it did. But ringside wise, u couldnt find anyone having ziani up, including his team. Alex will always be in great fights, and he showed a slick style this fight, but hes aggressive, he wont potshot and run, people turn on the tv to see professional boxing, not point scoring. The power thing someone mentioned is silly. Ziani, parlagi, fonseca....these arent guys who go over. Ziani put commey over in the 4th round, and walked him down the whole fight....is commey powder puff puncher too? The body work is intentional, to slow the guy down, and it did at times, problem is he gets 2nd and 3rd winds. I think losing a fight he was ahead of going into the 12 to the european champ shows hes above the zelfas etc, and hes at the level of ward etc, which too me are world level. he will come back again, and knowing him with another ranked guy.

Tbf Zians team had him a few rounds behind thats why they were going mental in last few and were so happy when he got the stoppage.It was a cracker

[THEBUTCH]

Cheers for the update Offthehook. Alex put in a cracking effort and I hope he comes back stronger for the experience

[forcefraser]

Great fight. I had the little french sod 1 round up going into the last

[dookus]

Yeah, hell of a fight.

Dilmaghani clearly loves the inside game and is very good at it, but he really would have benefitted from longer stretches behind the jab - Ziani had no answer for him there.

People talk about body shots as an "investment" in the later rounds - and they are a great tool - but the problem with investments is they don't pay off 100% of the time. Ziani took a beating to the body (particularly from the right hook) but just kept coming. (And given he doesn't rely on his footwork much, maybe they were never going to be a decisive factor unless a flush liver shot landed.)

Rees v Kotelnik is another good example of extensive body work failing to pay off.

Best of luck to Dilmaghani for the future, though - his kind of courage, aggression and fitness is rare and he deserves more and bigger nights.

[NoScoutingReports]

Just had the chance to watch this, really entertaining fight. The engine of both fighters =

[WelshDevil]

That was some fight! It was hard-fought and intense. Had the cuts to go with the volume of blows. Was such a dramatic final round.

Credit to both men on a fantastic fight.

[daviddee]

I think this shows fully how people do not understand what a fighter or his family go through. Alex’s brother has come on to say from their side what has happened and to show he is ok. Negativity on a loss is not needed in my eyes both fighters won. They both showed warriors heart and neither of them gave up. You can not help but respect that. It’s funny because I see it up and down the country people either congratulating fighters for losing after clearly quitting/not trying(“you were so brave”). Or fighting in fights where they are Odds on favourite to win. Sharp arguably lost to offori and Barrett lost decisively to Clark yet both are talked about as world beaters. Carroll lost to Hughes we hear excuses. Next we have Cacace fighting Woodstock it’s a joke British title fight with Woodstock coming off a loss BBBofC should have a long hard look at themselves with that one.

As for the fight I thought Alex won most of the early round with the body punching really slowing Ziani down. Coming into the middle rounds he seemed to get a little greedy more head hunting and less body shots made Ziani find a 2nd wind.. I wanted Alex to win and though he boxed a great fight and it was close. Watching it on the TV I did have Ziani 1 up going into 12. In saying that some rounds were very close and scoring is subjective. Would love to see Alex in a comeback fight then a crack at the British v Cacace or Commonwealth v Barrett. I don’t see that happening though. As for Ziani I think one more fight and he could be fighting for a World Title the bias in me would love to see that v Ronnie Clark. Ziani likes to stand in that pocket and trade and Ronnie is very strong and hits hard would make a great fight.

[skanksta]

I don't think you can come back from a defeat like that.
Heartbreaking loss for Dilmaghani.

im his brother. He was up going into the last round, and im shocked it was only by a couple. he blocked and shouldered a lot of stuff. Gary hyde, and his team had alex up going into round 12 by 2, honestly speaking i think he was more up by 4. The fight should have been stopped inside the first minute of the round, or let go, u dont stop fights in the last 8 seconds when someones beaten the count. Whatever idiot posts about elbows, understand something. Ziani is a dirty fighter....his 40lbs head was going in, he used elbows himself (alexs cut was from an elbow, overruled by the ref who said it was a punch)...and he went low countless times. I know he gets a lot of hate, im still not sure why, but this a site where proper boxing fans should be. Hes not fighting numpties like zelfa and archie and a whole host of other fighters are doing, and yet people give them undeserved props. Alex showed he could box and fight, and was very unlucky to get caught behind the ear with a roundhouse left, in the 11th. If he wasnt caught by that, he was going to win that fight. Alex hasnt been training in a gym for the majority of his fights, he trains at home, and i hold the pads for him most nights. Hes done this to be close to our mother, whose gone through a tough time. He trained pretty much by himself for this fight, where ziani had a whole team. Hes had it hard, but wont make excuses, or tell anyone this. Absolute stupid comments from some on here. He fought through hell to get to where he did, and all he wants to do is put on good fights. How the hell u going to come at the guy for that. He was one round away from being a euro champ, to someone who could very well be undefeated in almost 40 fights.

I mean no disrespect and would love to be proved wrong.
Every boxing fan would love to see Alex come back better than ever - he’s given us two consecutive FOTY contenders.

[THEBUTCH]

Costello and Bunce mentioned the fight in their weekly pod, but only the stoppage !

Not a single word on what a superb fight it was Pair of jokers Also gave more air time to that plonker Virgo, than talk about the potential fight of the year

It's an insult to the efforts of Dilmaghani and Ziani.

[dookus]

Costello and Bunce mentioned the fight in their weekly pod, but only the stoppage !

Not a single word on what a superb fight it was Pair of jokers Also gave more air time to that plonker Virgo, than talk about the potential fight of the year

It's an insult to the efforts of Dilmaghani and Ziani.

That is ridiculous. Virgo looked like toss against an opponent who can't buy a win and who was absolutely fúcked by round 3. How can that guy deserve more airtime than the fantastic effort Dilmaghani showed?

[Offthehook]

I don't think you can come back from a defeat like that.
Heartbreaking loss for Dilmaghani.

im his brother. He was up going into the last round, and im shocked it was only by a couple. he blocked and shouldered a lot of stuff. Gary hyde, and his team had alex up going into round 12 by 2, honestly speaking i think he was more up by 4. The fight should have been stopped inside the first minute of the round, or let go, u dont stop fights in the last 8 seconds when someones beaten the count. Whatever idiot posts about elbows, understand something. Ziani is a dirty fighter....his 40lbs head was going in, he used elbows himself (alexs cut was from an elbow, overruled by the ref who said it was a punch)...and he went low countless times. I know he gets a lot of hate, im still not sure why, but this a site where proper boxing fans should be. Hes not fighting numpties like zelfa and archie and a whole host of other fighters are doing, and yet people give them undeserved props. Alex showed he could box and fight, and was very unlucky to get caught behind the ear with a roundhouse left, in the 11th. If he wasnt caught by that, he was going to win that fight. Alex hasnt been training in a gym for the majority of his fights, he trains at home, and i hold the pads for him most nights. Hes done this to be close to our mother, whose gone through a tough time. He trained pretty much by himself for this fight, where ziani had a whole team. Hes had it hard, but wont make excuses, or tell anyone this. Absolute stupid comments from some on here. He fought through hell to get to where he did, and all he wants to do is put on good fights. How the hell u going to come at the guy for that. He was one round away from being a euro champ, to someone who could very well be undefeated in almost 40 fights.

I mean no disrespect and would love to be proved wrong.
Every boxing fan would love to see Alex come back better than ever - he’s given us two consecutive FOTY contenders.

I appreciate your comments, but literally hes not only medically cleared to fight, but ready to go now, so dont worry. After 10 rounds the pace was hot, but alex was in control, and up on not only the official cards, the bet in play odds too, but as i said everyone at floor level including zianis team had alex up, i know people dont count bodyshots because if they did it would of been landslide-esque, ziani was getting caught flush and often there. Alex got caught on top of his head, and literally at the back of his head where he had a lump ( both technically illegal shots)but you cant have a go, its a fight, just bad luck where they landed. Mixed with fatigue, it meant he couldnt recover in time for the last round. His legs didnt go like khan, he wasnt 'head in the air' swinging like castillo, he was just heavy legged from fatigue, under a volume of punches, from ziani who seemed to have his 4th wind. Alex was up inside a 2 count in the second kd with 7 seconds left, and it was really fatigue and bundle volume balance punches that he went down on, not any clear single punch, and a lot that landed from ziani was side and back of head, which is why elbows were flying in from alex, the referee just let a street fight happen, so when in rome......

so many fighters in america and mexico have been in 12 round wars, up and down legit knockdowns etc, and they come back, careers arent ruined from a last round with fatigue.

Whats heartbreaking was he was up, that he trained literally at home for this fight, bar 12 gym sessions, where there wasnt always sparring. Hes got a tonne of excuses but isnt making any, because he believes in not discrediting anyones win, and so i wont delve into them either because its his career not mine. Like he says u got to take a loss, even when its from behind, like youd take a win the same way.


Thanks again for all the comments.

[saad muhammad]

A very heartfelt post..you obviously care for your brother a lot.
I've been watching boxing for a lot of years and he's attitude and fighting style reminds me of the 70s & 80s fighters..fight anybody anywhere anytime, this fight should have been lauded more than it has been ..a great fight in any era !
Maybe drop down for the British win that and build again.

[Offthehook]

A very heartfelt post..you obviously care for your brother a lot.
I've been watching boxing for a lot of years and he's attitude and fighting style reminds me of the 70s & 80s fighters..fight anybody anywhere anytime, this fight should have been lauded more than it has been ..a great fight in any era !
Maybe drop down for the British win that and build again.

appreciate the kind words. We are literally a tight family, no cousins, uncles aunts etc, theres me, him and our mum. Only bond ive seen this tight is someone like the walsh's. Nah no point really, because If he wasnt winning, then id agree, but when your ahead going into the last against a guy whose pushing on for a world title, and arguably won more rounds against people like commey and frenois than he did in this fight, then it shows the least level alex is, is euro, and theres no point dropping down. A quick win against a fighter like frampton fought, and then go back into the mix. I feel people like cacacce and ward, clarke and cordina are also euro level, so fighting for the british title should effectively mean fighting at a lower level like perhaps sharpe or barratt, neither of which is realistically happening. Tbh hes a 126lbs....when u come to the scale eating breakfast at 129, and are 132 the night of the fight, ur not realistically a 130lbs, so maybe giving away 7 -10 lbs on the night isnt something that we should be doing often. Unfortunately alex doesnt have a strength and conditioner or anyone who can tell him how to take weight off and put it back on. He paid 1500 for a food intolerance and vo2 test, so he knew for this fight what foods to avoid, but maybe we can add some knowledge on what to eat and when

[olij999]

A very heartfelt post..you obviously care for your brother a lot.
I've been watching boxing for a lot of years and he's attitude and fighting style reminds me of the 70s & 80s fighters..fight anybody anywhere anytime, this fight should have been lauded more than it has been ..a great fight in any era !
Maybe drop down for the British win that and build again.

appreciate the kind words. We are literally a tight family, no cousins, uncles aunts etc, theres me, him and our mum. Only bond ive seen this tight is someone like the walsh's. Nah no point really, because If he wasnt winning, then id agree, but when your ahead going into the last against a guy whose pushing on for a world title, and arguably won more rounds against people like commey and frenois than he did in this fight, then it shows the least level alex is, is euro, and theres no point dropping down. A quick win against a fighter like frampton fought, and then go back into the mix. I feel people like cacacce and ward, clarke and cordina are also euro level, so fighting for the british title should effectively mean fighting at a lower level like perhaps sharpe or barratt, neither of which is realistically happening. Tbh hes a 126lbs....when u come to the scale eating breakfast at 129, and are 132 the night of the fight, ur not realistically a 130lbs, so maybe giving away 7 -10 lbs on the night isnt something that we should be doing often. Unfortunately alex doesnt have a strength and conditioner or anyone who can tell him how to take weight off and put it back on. He paid 1500 for a food intolerance and vo2 test, so he knew for this fight what foods to avoid, but maybe we can add some knowledge on what to eat and when

One thought re the weight and nutrition point, and getting good advice without having to shell out for it. Depending where you are based day to day, you could get in contact with a local university that does nutrition courses (particularly in a sports science context) - not to study, but to get some free nutrition advice in return for letting them study how nutrition works or should work a top professional athlete. The tutors should be fully qualified on nutritional issues, so should be able to give you the advice you're after. Alternatively, if you have any nutritionists local to you who look well qualified and reputable, they may be willing to advise you in return for the promotional value of being able to say they are working with you. Win-win and all that. Don't know if you think that could work, but may be nothing to lose from trying, apart from a few phone calls / emails.

[Counter-puncher]

Great advice

[THEBUTCH]

Good old Barry Jones (former WBO super featherweight champion) wrote to Costello & Bunce's podcast last week and (politely) bollocked them about not giving sufficient time or credit to this fight

Costello seemed to pass the buck to their producer (but that may have been tongue in cheek), but this "Jack" fella is doing the boxing game a massive disservice if he's wasting Costello's and Buncey's immense knowledge of boxing on the likes of Idris Virgo, when they had a bona fida European title fight that delivered big time and they could have been celebrating that instead

[Counter-puncher]

Good old Barry Jones (former WBO super featherweight champion) wrote to Costello & Bunce's podcast last week and (politely) bollocked them about not giving sufficient time or credit to this fight

nice work barry

[Arnie.]

Alex is a top guy and hopefully he will come back stronger for the experience, Wish u all the best Al