He's still the number 1 challenger at 168, there's nothing that can take that away. Canelo is obligated to fight his mandatory, he's fought and beat every other mandatory there is up to this point, why would Berlanga be worthy but not Benevidez? They're his last 2 mandos to fulfill, which would you rather watch?
Because he's clearly the outstanding challenger at SMW so if Canelo refuses to defend his titles against him it stains his championship.
Like I said, I'm not interested in Canelo fighting anyone but Benavides or the winner of Bivol/Beterviev next.
Because Benavidez is a 6'2'' giant who weighs around 190 at fight night. Why would Canelo fight a 190 lbs 6'2'' heavyweight for his 168 titles? He said it all, "if you want me to fight that giant, you should pay me more money, $200M". That's a fair request in my opinion.
So does Canelo weigh 168 on fight night? Why was Canelo trying to fight for a CW title against Macka-boo, if fighting a guy weighing 190 on fight night is such a big deal?
Because Canelo has a heart to challenge fighters in higher weight divisions, unlike Benavidez. Benavidez is scared of fighting guys with similar size to him, instead he tries to bully smaller fighters in lower weight divisions. If Canelo had fought Makabu, he would fight him in cruiserweight. Canelo would be around 190 lbs, which would be fair to fight Makabu. But Benavidez weighing 190 and Canelo weighing 175 at fight night isn't acceptable. And Benavidez is 2'' taller than Makabu.
Hope Benavidez puts on a good one against Gvozdyk. Will raise his profile and make him harder to ignore.
Benvidez is fighting the nail at 175, he's moving up in weight for that fight so he has the heart to challenge fighters in higher weight divisions as well. Point is Benevidez is the premier challenger to Canelo at 168, no one else. That fight needs to happen or his Legacy will always be questioned.
If he didn't want to fight Benavidez like 2 years ago, what makes you think he's going to fight him now?