It's very ****ing weird. He had one more week to wait and Canelo would either have to agree or be stripped. Also, why move up? Jaime Munguia is a much bigger fight than Gvozdyk, where he can stay at 168 and really press Canelo for the fight, if he beats Munguia.
It's very ****ing odd for more than one reason. 1. He can enforce his mandatory status in one week. Meaning, Canelo agrees to a fight, or Canelo gets stripped. 2. The biggest money fight for Benavidez after Canelo is not at 175. It's at 168 against Jaime Munguia. Why move to 175 to fight a fighter who is completely unknown by the biggest PPV market? My gut tells me Al Haymon is playing chess.
Could be Benavidez has outgrown the 168 lb division, I suspect his camp believes Gvozdyk at 36 is a ripe melon and a win would get him a shot at the Bivol Benavidez winner since Canelo is not going to fight him. P.S. These sanctioning bodies will never strip Canelo