By Mike Coppinger

Entering 2014, Mikey Garcia was one of the hottest fighters in boxing. His fan-friendly style and KO power catapulted him to regular HBO appearances, and he was winning each bout handily. Big things were ahead.

Then Garcia (24-0, 28 KOs) ran into promotional problems with Top Rank, even bringing them to court in an attempt to end his relationship with Bob Arum and Co. He hasn't fought since a January 2014 win over Juan Carlos Burgos, and the boxing world is left wondering when Garcia might return.

"Realistically, I think I could be back in the first quarter of next year," Garcia told BoxingScene.com. "I was hoping to get something by the end of this year but that's not happening, so I'm looking forward to a good 2015."

Garcia has lost a lot of momentum on the sideline, but he's not too worried about it yet.

"This year kind of went to waste in my career, but that's alright, I'm still here, people are still showing me a lot of love so when I come back I'm going to be shown a lot of support," Garcia said.

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