Mikey Garcia enjoying free agency before facing Dejan Zlaticanin

Mikey Garcia gave up two-plus years of his prime to fight for his right to be a free agent.

Now that he’s back in the ring, don’t expect the former two-division champion to rush back into a promotional contract.

Garcia (35-0, 29 knockouts), who many view as a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter, will enter the MGM Grand Garden ring on Jan. 28 as a free agent when he meets WBC lightweight champion Dejan Zlaticanin (22-0, 15 KOs). The bout will be the co-main event to the highly anticipated featherweight rematch between Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz, which was made official last week.

“I wasn’t planning on getting a title fight this soon, but after my comeback fight, I felt that I’m more than ready,” Garcia said. “I’m better than I was before.”

Garcia, 28, is enjoying his freedom after a long legal battle with former promoter Top Rank. Garcia believed his contract was up after defeating Juan Carlos Burgos in Jan. 2014, but Top Rank disagreed and the legal fees piled up.

The younger brother of renowned trainer, Robert Garcia, was finally granted his release in April and had promoters fighting for his signature. Mikey Garcia, like he does in the ring, decided to be patient and bet on himself.

“I know eventually I’m going to need a partner to get the big fights that I want,” Garcia said. “I just want a fair deal. After this fight in January, if things go right, I’ll be the WBC lightweight champion as a free agent. The offers are going to be endless.

“My options will be greater than they ever were and the offers will be doubled from what they were in April when I was finally released. So I’m in great shape right now.”

Garcia built a relationship with Showtime and Al Haymon, who represents fighters for the Premier Boxing Champions. The two sides helped Garcia get on the first Frampton-Santa Cruz card in July at the Barclays Center in New York for his return fight.

The Southern California native was thrilled about the response he received when he knocked out Elio Rojas for his first victory in more than two years.

“I was very surprised about the support I received in Brooklyn,” said Garcia, who fought at junior welterweight in the comeback bout. “I was 3,000 miles away from home. It was the perfect comeback.”

Garcia will once again fight on Showtime and on a Haymon card when he meets Zlaticanin. But the Ventura County Police Academy graduate isn’t ready to commit to them.

“They are backing me up a lot and showing me faith and respect,” Garcia said. “I like how Showtime has handled things for me along with the relationship we have built with Mr. Haymon, who also has shown a lot of interest in working with me and he already helped me with these two fights.

“They have been a big help in this come back for me. I just want to keep my options open.”

Garcia is ready to pick up where he left off three years ago when he was the clear No. 1 junior lightweight. He’s now ready for a third division title at lightweight against a dangerous undefeated opponent from Montenegro.

Garcia said he hopes to unify if he’s victorious against Zlaticanin. He’s eyeing Terry Flanagan’s WBO belt.

“I had the WBO belt at featherweight and super featherweight,” Garcia said. “It only makes sense to go after it at lightweight.”

The blockbuster bouts are endless for one of boxing’s most exciting fighters. Many boxing fans are hoping Garcia eventually collides with one of Top Rank’s future stars in Vasyl Lomachenko, the WBO junior lightweight champion, or Terence Crawford, the unified titlist at junior welterweight.

Garcia is interested in facing a Top Rank star, but not to get back at the Las Vegas-based company that wouldn’t let him go.

“If Top Rank wants to make a fair deal with me then sure I’ll fight one of their guys,” Garcia said. “If Lomachenko wants to come to 135, I’ll be very interested. Same thing for Crawford if he’s still there when I decide to go up to 140. This is business and Top Rank needs to understand that.”

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.