It’s another weekend of action for the fight fans as WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson returned to action for the second time in 2025. He took on William Zepeda, who couldn’t overcome the 28-year-old. Stevenson’s return was a triumph as he defended his lightweight title. However, it seems like former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling wasn’t aware of the boxing match taking place.

The fight fans had a lot of options this weekend with BKFC 78, UFC Nashville, and, of course, the Berlanga vs. Sheeraz: Ring III boxing PPV. The fans already witnessed a hot moment when BKFC heavyweight Esteban Rodriguez scored the second-fastest KO in promotional history, and that made a lot of noise online. But when it came to Shakur Stevenson’s boxing match, Aljamain Sterling was surprised to hear no murmurs about it.

The former bantamweight champion took to social media and expressed how clueless he was about the WBC lightweight champion competing this weekend. “I had no idea he was fighting tonight,” Aljamain Sterling wrote on X about Shakur Stevenson’s fight against William Zepeda.

Well, Shakur Stevenson is one of the stars in the boxing promotion, so it may come as a surprise to many fans that a combat athlete like Aljamain Sterling didn’t seem to have an idea that he was fighting this weekend. So, what’s the reason behind it? Does Stevenson lack the star power? Well, for a veteran boxing promoter, the 28-year-old boxer is a pretty big draw in the sport. Here’s what he had to say over three years ago.

Bob Arum called Shakur Stevenson a big draw

Shakur Stevenson’s win over Oscar Valdez in 2022 saw the WBC champion make a strong statement. He believes he should be up there on the list of one of the biggest draws in boxing in the current generation. “I’m definitely proving that I’m a bigger star than everybody give me credit for,” a confident Stevenson said. And guess what? Veteran promoter Bob Arum also backed the 28-year-old as he shared some details about the financial outcome of that fight.

Bob Arum claimed that fans were demanding extra tickets for Shakur Stevenson’s fight against Oscar Vadez, claiming that they sold “extraordinarily good.” Moreover, the veteran also claimed that Stevenson has proved himself a big draw as the ticket revenue reached $1.6 million that night. “We know that boxing-wise, he’s a great talent. The question has always been, what about star power? Can he draw?… When he fought Valdez, it was a tremendous crowd. And now here. So, he is showing that he is a big, big draw. We’re very pleased with that kind of development.”

Despite the strong words of praise from Bob Arum in 2022, things are looking bleak for Shakur Stevenson after what Aljamain Sterling had to say about his boxing match. So, what do you think could be the reason behind Aljamain Sterling being unaware of Shakur Stevenson’s fight? Is he really losing his drawing power? Let us know in the comments down below.