Hey I agree, but I think it more often falls upon promoters and networks when you talk about the general state of affairs. There are more than enough good fighters in this sport to be having great fights all the time, and I don't for a second believe the majority of elite fighters are afraid of each other. They are afraid of getting underpaid, locked into bad contracts, being discredited after a loss(another issue of course), and so on.

I'm not sure Ward does get that much press either? He's certainly never been a big seller or anything, so his inactivity is hurting him as much as anyone else. Obviously people will still talk about him as he's one of the best talents in the sport and hasn't lost.

Think of it this way... If Roger Federer had only entered one tournament every couple of years but he ALWAYS won, or Usain Bolt only competed in the olympics, I'm pretty sure people would still be interested, as much as they might not like it.