By Jake Donovan

Broomfield, Colo. --Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios look to break their tie as they meet for the third time. The friendly rivals collide at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, just outside of Alvarado's hometown of Thornton, Colorado. 

Their bout headlines a televised doubleheader later this evening on the 2015 season premiere of HBO's Boxing After Dark (Saturday, HBO 9:45 p.m. ET). Also on the telecast, unbeaten super middleweight Gilberto Ramirez takes on Maxim Vlasov. 

Topping the non-televised undercard was a major upset. Aik Shakhnazaryan suffered the first loss of his young career, as the 21-year old from Russia dropped a wide unanimous decison to Mexico's Abner Lopez in their eight round super lightweight fight.

Things never really got going for Shakhnazaryan (15-1, 6KOs), who struggled with the massive height and reach advantage enjoyed by his opponents. Things turned near-disastrous in the middle rounds, as the 24-year old Lopez hurt Shakhnazaryan in round five before dropping him twice in round six, both knockdowns coming courtesy of body shots.

Shakhnazaryan fought back as hard as he could, landing hard shots in the eighth and final round. The rally proved to be too little, too late.

Scores were 78-73 (twice) and 76-74 in favor of Lopez (22-4, 19KOs), who heads back to Mexico with a three-fight win streak and the best victory of his career to date. 
 
Konstantin Ponomarev was forced to work hard to keep his unbeaten record intact, edging out a determined Steve Claggett to take an unpopular eight-round decision in their welterweight battle.

Scores of 77-75 (twice) and 78-74 were met with a smattering of boos, but the decision went in the right direction. Ponomarov (27-0, 13KOs) wore badges of honor with reddening and bruising around his right eye. The 22-year old from Russia was the superior boxer over the course of the evening, but his lack of power allowed Canada's Claggett (20-3-1, 14KOs) to remain competitive until the bitter end. 

Unbeaten Ukraine import  Oleksandr Gvozdyk had his way with veteran Corey Cummings (18-8-1, 13KOs), battering the veteran before forcing a stopping in round two of their light heavyweight affair. Gvozdyk (5-0, 4KOs) - a 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist who now trains in Robert Garcia's gym in Oxnard, Calif. - floored the Baltimore-based Cummings three times before the fight was halted at 1:10 of round two.

Local prospect Jeremy Ramos picked up his third straight win after battering Rene Marquez into submission in round three of their scheduled six-round super welterweight contest. An accumulation of punches prompted referee Jay Nady to jump in and rescue Marquez (4-2, 2KOs). Ramos (7-1, 3KOs) has fought exclusively in his home state of Colorado thus far as a pro.

Zsolt Daranyi (3-0, 3KOs) made quick work of debutante Luis Marquez, needing just 41 seconds to pick up his third knockout in as many pro fights. 

NON-TELEVISED UNDERCARD RESULTS
Abner Lopez (22-4, 19KOs) UD8 Aik Shakhnazaryan (15-1, 6KOs)
Konstantin Ponomarev (27-0, 13KOs) UD8 Steve Claggett (20-3-1)
Oleksandr Gvozdyk (5-0, 4KOs) KO2 Corey Cummings (18-8-1, 13KOs)
Jeremy Ramos (7-1, 3KOs) TKO3 Rene Marquez (4-2, 2KOs)
Zsolt Daranyi (3-0, 3KOs) KO1 Luis Marquez (0-1, 0KOs)

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox