past champs and their in-between-titlefight-bouts

[man]

i hope this is not too stupid a question. i wonder about the
fights the old champs did in between their title bouts. for
example duran:

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_ ... r&pageID=1

earlier in his career he piled up fights by not too great matchups.
in between successful title fights he fought people with very
limited and not too good records. i wonder why he did that.
could these fights be well-paid? i can hardly believe it. was
it for the shere joy of fighting?

[HomicideHenry]

In a technical sense every match, whether its a title match or not, a champion does, his ranking and championship is on the line. I recall Walter Edgerton knocking out George Dixon in a exhibition, and the worlds champions reputation was tarnished---so he rematched Edgerton in a real fight that counted and beat his ass.

[man]

In a technical sense every match, whether its a title match or not, a champion does, his ranking and championship is on the line. I recall Walter Edgerton knocking out George Dixon in a exhibition, and the worlds champions reputation was tarnished---so he rematched Edgerton in a real fight that counted and beat his ass.

even more weird how often duran would risk a lot
with probably very little reward.

[bollox]

With Duran I'd say his trainers kept him fighting to stop him turning into a porker between fights Plus, in days gone by fighters.......fought