Mikey Garcia is seen here with his brother/trainer Robert Garcia after defeating Juan Carlos Burgos in January 2014, the last time Mikey Garcia fought before a contract dispute with his promoter kept him out 2 1/2 years/Photo courtesy of HBO

Mikey Garcia of Oxnard has sat out the past 2 1/2 years because of a contract dispute with his now-former promoter Bob Arum. Garcia, now a free agent, will make his return July 30 when he takes on Elio Rojas underneath the featherweight title fight between champion Leo Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (on Showtime).

Garcia, 28, went 34-0 with 28 knockouts and won world titles in the featherweight and super featherweight divisions before his hiatus. He was asked Tuesday what he missed most.

“The actual fight itself,” said Garcia, who, along with Santa Cruz hosted a media workout at City of Angels Boxing Club in Los Angeles. “Just being able to show my skills, what I can do in the ring and just the competition versus other elite fighters. That’s the No. 1 thing. You always want to prove yourself and prove to everybody, you know, match yourself against the top champions, and I was unable to do that.”