By Jake Donovan

There are a few themes that come with Saturday's Showtime-televised card at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. The headliner pits Adrien Broner and Khabib Allakhverdiev - two fighters both coming off of losses - in a vacant 140 lb. title fight.

Allakhverdiev's loss - the first and only of his career to date - came 18 months ago, conceding his title to Jessie Vargas over 12-hard fought rounds.

Broner's latest setback took place in June, dropping a decision to Shawn Porter in their catchweight bout in Las Vegas. His lone other defeat came in Dec. '13, when Marcos Maidana violently snatched his welterweight title via 12-round decision.

Despite the high profile nature that came with both losses,  Broner can hang his hat on the fact that he's unbeaten at 140 lbs. and below, with Saturday's bout taking place at the super lightweight limit. It's a stat to which co-feature player Edner "Cherry Bomb" Cherry can relate, as he prepares for his challenge of unbeaten 130 lb. titlist Jose Pedraza.

The 33-year old Cherry (34-6-2, 19KOs) - a Bahamian boxer based out of Florida - prides himself on being at his very best at 130 lbs., while being brave enough to venture into other weight divisions where all six career losses have taken place. He is 0-2 lifetime in title fights and sanctioned eliminators, dropping a 12-round nod to Ricky Quiles in their Feb. '05 final lightweight eliminator, and also came up short in his lone title bid versus then-unbeaten 140 lb. champ Tim Bradley in Sept. '08.

An 11-fight unbeaten streak has followed the loss to Bradley more than seven years ago, including two straight knockout wins heading into his showdown with Pedraza (20-0, 12KOs).

"Pedraza is for real, but I'm sure his team saw an easy mark when my name was mentioned," Cherry told BoxingScene.com during a recent interview. "Fighters see my past losses, how long I've been in the game and they think I'm ripe for the picking.

"What everyone forgets is that I'm fighting at my natural weight. I'm at my best at 130 lbs. and will show it on Saturday night."

It showed in his 9th round knockout of Luis Cruz this past July. The fight was one where Cruz perhaps thought he was getting a known name and means to get back into the win column.

Instead, he saw a veteran boxer who continues to improve and offers proof that losses don't always mean you lose.

"The fights with Bradley and (Paul) Malignaggi, those were necessary steps in my career," Cherry notes. "I thought I could win those fights and took that risk. But they've turned me into the fighter that I am today.

"I'm feeling good, and at a weight that gives me the best chance to win a world title. I can't wait for Saturday night, for the Cherry Bomb to detonate ."

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.

Twitter: @JakeNDaBox

Facebook Page: JakeBScene