Vergil Ortiz Jr. faces a stunning two-year wait for a world title shot against Sebastian Fundora. Fundora’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, has shut the door on an immediate fight, preferring a unification with Jaron Ennis. Ortiz is now frozen out of the 154-pound title picture.
The brutal assessment came after Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, accused Fundora’s team of avoiding the WBC interim champion. Mirigian claimed they had chased the fight for months. But Lewkowicz fired back, putting all the blame on Ortiz’s own camp for past mistakes.
Lewkowicz was blunt. He said Ortiz missed his window of opportunity, largely due to a previous legal battle with his own promoter, Golden Boy. That dispute, he argued, cost Ortiz his place in line for the belt. “He had a shot. Not now,” Lewkowicz told Boxingscene.
Instead of facing Ortiz, Lewkowicz has a different plan for his champion. First, Fundora will handle his mandatory challenger, Ermal Hadribeaj. After that, the real prize is a massive unification bout against IBF champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. Ortiz is not part of that equation. Lewkowicz made his preference clear. “I’d rather go to a unification with ‘Boots.’ So, now he’s two years away.”
This leaves Ortiz in a terrible position. At 28 years old, waiting two years is a massive blow to a fighter in his prime. He holds the WBC interim title, which should guarantee him a shot at the full champion. But promotional politics and the lure of a bigger payday with Ennis have left him powerless.
The logjam is forcing Ortiz’s team to consider drastic options. Trainer Robert Garcia has already floated the idea of moving up to the middleweight division if a meaningful fight at junior middleweight cannot be secured. For now, Vergil Ortiz Jr. is a champion in name only, stuck watching others fight for the titles he wants.
