Is there anything boxing can do about the inactivity in some boxers?

[TitoFan]

Well I've never bought into this catchweight crap... but then Cotto isn't the first to play that game, and he certainly won't be the last. TBH, I relish the matchups more than the trinkets. The fact that he's going to fight Canelo... especially given the drastic disappointment of Floyd-Pac... is in of itself an exciting event for boxing fans.

As far as inactivity's concerned... well if I was a fighter and could get away with fighting every two years... and still maintaining some level of standard of living.... hell, why not. Self-preservation is above all else, after all. All I'm saying is we the fans see precious little these days in the way of great fights between top, well-known fighters. We were let down by Floyd-Pac... we're still waiting for Wlad-Fury... and everything else, so... seeing a guy like Ward still get press while fighting every two years or so, rubs me the wrong way.

[p4pking]

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.