The tug of war between Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez continues to be a complicated one.

Benavidez has been pounding the table for over three years calling for a clash against Alvarez, but Alvarez hasn’t been inclined to make the encounter a real possibility. The developments forced Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) to leave the super middleweight division last year.

He’s now the WBC light heavyweight champion, getting ready for his third fight in the weight class. He’ll make his first full title defense against Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) in the main event of “The Ring IV” card November 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

After Alvarez lost to Terence Crawford earlier this month, the development left many, including Turki Alalshikh, wondering if Benavidez can still make 168 pounds to face Alvarez once and for all.

“The way he handled my presence at 168 pounds, he’s definitely scared of me,” Benavidez said on "Inside the Ring," available on DAZN and . “I was talking so much trash in front of him. Why didn’t he make an example of me in front of the entire world? Beat me in the ring and make a whole lot of money. But as you saw with Dmitry Bivol, anytime he fights a bigger guy with power, he’s not able to suppress bigger fighters as much as he is with the little fighters. He sees a lot of things in me that he can’t stop. He sees speed, power, and a lot of heart in me.

“He should have taken the fight with me way back then because if he had a chance to beat me, it would have been way back then. He has no chance to beat me now. I’m stepping into my prime and have all this confidence. I’m able to deal with and thrive in bigger shows better. I’m winning my fights by significant margins. My craft is getting better and better with each fight. I’m not a boxer, I’m a warrior. I go in there and tear everybody up.”

During the buildup of the Crawford clash, Alvarez claimed he never rejected a Benavidez fight and said he was still open to facing him in the future.

“If Canelo wants to come up, I have the WBC world title at 175,” said Benavidez, who is on the cover of the October issue of The Ring. “After I beat Bivol, I’ll have all of the belts. Then I’ll be the one who has the power. Canelo says he fights for greatness and titles. Well, I’ll pick up all the titles and then we can come back to the table and talk.”