By Victor Salazar

New York - It's been two and a half years but the wait is over. Former two division world champion Mikey Garcia (34-0, 28KOs) returns from a ring absence that allowed him to become a free agent from his former promoter Top Rank, Inc.

Since his absence, a lot has happened; Floyd Mayweather has retired, Manny Pacquiao might soon follow. Names like Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Marquez are moving towards the end of their careers.

Now is the age of stars like Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, and Terence Crawford. Crawford is just coming off his first pay-per-view headliner this past weekend against Viktor Postol.

Crawford emerged in the spotlight when he took a fight against Yuriorkis Gamboa - which was supposed to be a fight that Garcia was initially presented with. That victory began the rise in stardom for Crawford. Had Garcia taken that fight, he might have been on the same level as Crawford or even bigger - but the former world champion says things happen for a reason and he has no regrets.

"If I would have been fighting I definitely would be a big star," Garcia told BoxingScene.com. "But I think he'd (Crawford) still be a star and he would be matched up with the right names to be a star. He's got all the right tools. He didn't take my spot. He would have probably got the same opportunity to be a star, the only fight he took that was my fight was Gamboa. That's fine because its boxing. I honestly believe the best of my career is ahead."

For now, Garcia is a free agent and for the immediate future, he wants to keep it that way.

"I still have plenty of options, I'm not pressured or bossed by anybody," stated Garcia. "I can have conversations with anybody an make the best decision for what's best for my career. I'm keeping it that way right now. If i find a good partnership where we can co-promote and it benefits me the best for my career, then that's the move we'll make."