Alex Dilmaghani

In his next fight he challenged for his first world title, albeit a minor one, against former two-time world title challenger Francisco Fonseca for the vacant IBO super-featherweight title. The bout was originally scheduled to take place on 28 September 2019,[6] but on the night Fonseca fell ill before walking to the ring, forcing promoter Mick Hennessey to cancel the main event at the last minute. The bout was rescheduled and took place on 16 November at the York Hall.[7] Both men engaged in the centre of the ring, trading punches, with neither one taking a step back for the first seven rounds. In the eighth, Dilmaghani's relentless pace and body punches seemed to be having an effect on Fonseca. After an accidental clash of heads in the ninth which resulted in Fonseca being knocked to the canvas and Dilmaghani receiving a cut above his left eye, Fonseca began gaining the upper hand. After the twelve rounds were complete the result was announced as a majority draw, with one judge scoring the bout 115–114 to Fonseca while the other two scored it 114–114.[8]

Following the draw with Fonseca, Dilmaghani challenged European super-featherweight champion Samir Ziani on 5 September 2020 at the Production Park Studios in South Kirkby. The first round saw both men stand toe-to-toe from the opening bell, with Dilmaghani landing punches to the body while Ziani repeatedly landed with left hooks to the head. The pace continued in the second round with the champion able to land more punches. Dilmaghani tightened up his defence in the third while landing short left hooks. His success continued for much of the fourth, with Ziani coming on strong at the end of the round, landing a left hook as the bell rang. Dilmaghani began using footwork in the fifth while landing the occasional illegal elbow. He suffered a cut under his right eye in the sixth round and received a warning from referee Giuseppe Quartarone for his use of the elbow. Ziani found success in the seventh as he pressured Dilmaghani, who managed to regain control in the eighth. After an accidental clash of heads left the champion with a cut under his right eye, Dilmaghani was able to continue his success in the ninth round. The pace eased off in the tenth but picked back up in the eleventh as both men went toe-to-toe. Dilmaghani was thrown across the ring in the twelfth and final round after an onslaught of punches from Ziani, who continued the attack, staggering Dilmaghani with a three punch combination. Under pressure and with his back against the ropes he went down to the canvas, only for Quartarone to rule it a slip. Ziani kept up the pressure and knocked Dilmaghani into the ropes and back onto the canvas, with Quartarone again deciding not to issue a count. The champion began to land with more frequency, with a left hand knocking Dilmaghani to the canvas with 30 seconds of the fight remaining. After Quartarone ruled it a knockdown, issued a count and allowed Dilmaghani to continue, Ziani landed again to send Dilmaghani flying into the ropes and back to the canvas. He again made it to his feet, but Quartarone decided enough was enough and called a halt to the contest with just nine seconds before the final bell, handing Dilmaghani a twelfth-round TKO loss and the second defeat of his career.[9]