There was a time when David Benavidez seemingly gave up on the notion that he would one day land a dream assignment against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

It doesn’t mean he’s done voicing his displeasure over it. In fact, he is once again attempting to speak it into existence.

“Imagine if [C]anelo would just agree and fight me already,” Benavidez stated on Friday via social media. [It’s] not about the money, it’s about what the sport needs right now and we owe it to the fans.”

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) is the current WBC and WBA mandatory challenger to The Ring and undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs).

The former two-time WBC super middleweight titlist made the move up to 175 last year after he held that same position with the WBC at super middleweight.

No action was ever taken by the sanctioning body, however, when it came time to order Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs), The Ring and unified 168-pound champ to make a mandatory title defense.

The thought continues to leave a bitter taste in the mouth of Benavidez, a Phoenix, Arizona native now based in the greater Seattle area. Even more disappointing to the 28-year-old is Alvarez’s risk averse approach since fully unifying the super middleweight division in 2021.

Conversely, Benavidez has been widely celebrated for his run of risky fights even with just secondary belts in tow.

Benavidez wiped out a faded David Lemieux inside of three rounds in May 2022 to claim the interim WBC super middleweight title. He successfully defended the belt in a pair of 2023 wins over former IBF titlist Caleb Plant and unbeaten two-division titleholder Demetrius Andrade.

A move to light heavyweight was made when it was clear that Alvarez was not interested in the fight. Benavidez outpointed former lineal and WBC 175-pound champ Oleksandr Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) to win the interim belt at the weight last June 15 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. He most recently earned a on Feb. 1 at T-Mobile Arena also in Vegas.

The win cemented Benavidez’s place as a dual mandatory to the winner of Beterbiev’s Feb. 22 rematch with Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He has verbally accepted a ringside invitation provided by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority whose Riyadh Season group just signed Alvarez to a four-fight deal.

Alvarez’s debut with the group will come this May in Riyadh. It is likely that his opponent selection will be further discussed through the Feb. 22 Riyadh Season event. The timing gives Benavidez at least one more shot to call out an old rival.

“Without a doubt it would go down as the best Mexican shootout in boxing history,” insisted Benavidez, commonly referred to as ‘El Monstruo’ (“The Monster”) and ‘The Mexican Monster. “Let’s give the fans what they deserve!

“We 300 percent confident on this side but I can’t say the same for the other side.”