Italian-American leaders vowed Tuesday to fight “like never before” to prevent the city from removing statues of Christopher Columbus, a day after a top elected official called for monuments honoring the explorer to be included in a city review.

The leaders had assembled at Columbus Circle to protest a skit about Italian-Americans on “Saturday Night Live” earlier this year — but shifted their focus to a defense of Columbus after City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito questioned the propriety of honoring him.

“That will be a fight like never before seen. The Italian-American community will really mobilize and do anything possible to prevent that from happening,” said John Fratta, chair of the New York State Commission for Social Justice. “It is a slap in the face to the Italian-American community and we are not going to tolerate it.”

Mark-Viverito defended her position Tuesday, saying at a Harlem senior center that the 90-day review of city monuments — announced last week by Mayor de Blasio — needs to be thorough.

“[Columbus] is a controversial figure, and I know that some people may take offense to that. But for many of us who come from the Caribbean Islands, we see him as a controversial figure,” said Mark-Viverito, who was born in Puerto Rico.

Brooklyn Council member Jumaane Williams went further, saying he supports long-running efforts to remove the statue at Columbus Circle.

A number of the Italian-American leaders threatened to sue if that were to happen, and state Assemblyman Andrew Raia (R-LI) told The Post he would try to thwart any city bid to yank Columbus by passing a bill in Albany to block it.