Ortiz owns the WBC interim 154-pound crown and is the only fighter ranked ahead of Fundora in The Ring’s junior middleweight top 10. Sampson Lewkowicz nonetheless considers Ortiz’s ongoing legal battle against his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, an insurmountable obstacle if Fundora were to try to oppose him next.

A Nevada judge’s ruling March 3 prevented Ortiz from moving forward toward a long-discussed showdown with Jaron “Boots” Ennis next. Lewkowicz – whose company, Sampson Boxing, promotes Fundora – believes the same principle would apply to an Ortiz-Fundora fight.

Lewkowicz addressed the situation during Fundora’s press conference following his sixth-round TKO over Keith Thurman at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“I don’t believe it will happen because in boxing we already have a problem at this moment,” he said. “And the worst thing sometimes is when management [commits] a mistake and doesn’t recognize it. And when he recognizes it, it’s too late. Oscar De La Hoya, besides [being] my friend and part of my family, he treated that kid [Ortiz] very well all his career. But sometimes management get greedy and now he pay the price.

“Why we should talk about Ortiz in this moment, [when] probably he will not fight for the next year or so? And he will get stripped very soon of the WBC interim [title]. So, let’s talk about somebody else. Tell me which one you want, and then I can tell you if it’s possible or not. But Ortiz is out of the game at this moment.”

Lewkowicz referred to manager Rick Mirigian, whom De La Hoya has repeatedly blamed publicly for encouraging Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs), of Grand Prairie, Texas, to try to terminate his contract with Golden Boy Promotions. The validity of Ortiz’s contract with Golden Boy will be decided by an arbitrator on a date to be determined.

Sampson Boxing and Golden Boy co-promote Fundora’s younger sister, undisputed flyweight champ Gabriela Fundora (18-0, 10 KOs).

Sebastian Fundora, meanwhile, reiterated Saturday night that he wants to fight fellow champions or former champions when the Coachella, California native returns to the ring later this year.

The 6-foot-6 southpaw mentioned former undisputed junior middleweight champ Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs), who sat ringside for Fundora’s fight with Thurman (31-2, 23 KOs) and called him out afterward. Xander Zayas and Josh Kelly hold the three other recognized titles in the division.

Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs), of Davie, Florida, is expected to defend his WBA and WBO belts against Philadelphia’s Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) on June 27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. England’s Kelly (18-1-1, 9 KOs), the IBF champ, doesn’t have a fight scheduled.

Zayas is ranked third by The Ring, one spot behind Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs). Ennis and Kelly are rated fifth and sixth, respectively.