Grandfather of Two Still Looks Great in Ring : Boxing: Weaver says he’s in better shape than Larry Holmes and George Foreman.

Timed perfectly for Father’s Day week: A fighting grandpa headlines the monthly professional boxing show at the Warner Center Marriott.

Only this isn’t just any old boxer.

Mike Weaver, 44 years old and the grandfather of two, is a former world heavyweight champion who could wear his old World Boxing Assn. title belt--won more than a decade ago--on the same notch.

“My daughter told me on Father’s Day that I was too old to be boxing,” Weaver said. “I don’t feel that way. I want to prove myself. You have Holmes out there and Foreman out there. I know I’m in better condition than those guys.”

Weaver, whose upper body is sculpted like that of a body builder, expects to weigh between 215 and 220 pounds for tonight’s National Boxing Assn. title bout against George O’Mara, scheduled for 12 rounds.

“He has a great body and he hasn’t misused it,” said Don Manuel, Weaver’s manager. “He doesn’t drink or smoke or put narcotics into his body. He’s well preserved.

“He’s a health-food nut and that’s why he keeps going. He needs the money to buy all those herbs he uses.”

Weaver, who resides in Chino Hills, will be making his first local appearance since 1989, when he boxed at the Country Club in Reseda. Two of his past three fights have been before large crowds in China, where he is immensely popular.

The Grand Ballroom at the Marriott holds a crowd of a little more than 1,000, and Weaver expects about 200 of them to be cheering wildly for him.

“My people at home want to see me fight,” Weaver said. “That’s why I agreed to fight in Woodland Hills.”

Added Manuel: “He wanted his mother to see him in person because she is getting up in age. This is the best I could do.”

However, there is another, potentially more lucrative, reason to headline tonight’s card, which is being co-promoted by Peter Broudy and former heavyweight champion Gerrie Coetzee.

Coetzee and Weaver battled twice in the early 1980s, including Weaver’s first WBA title defense. Coetzee, who went on to earn the WBA belt later in his career, was ahead on points when he was knocked out by Weaver in the 13th round.

That fight, before a partisan pro-Coetzee crowd in Sun City, South Africa, was judged WBA Fight of the Year.

Fifteen years later, promoters are talking about a rematch--probably somewhere in California--which they believe would draw a large South African television audience.

“Gerrie has some people who want to promote it and South African TV will buy it,” Manuel said. “They still like Mike. I’ve been over there three or four times since [the first fight] and they always ask about him.”

O’Mara, a North Hollywood resident and character actor, stands in the way.

Weaver, who has won his past four fights, has a record of 39-16-1 with 28 knockouts. O’Mara, a straight-forward brawler, is 15-15-3 with nine KOs.

“I’ve seen George fight a couple of times,” Weaver said. “He’s a tough guy. He takes a licking and keeps on ticking. But the thing is, he’s going to be standing right in front of me. I’m not going to have to look for him. He’s perfect for me.”

O’Mara has been stopped by technical knockout before, but never knocked out. Weaver needs an impressive performance to follow through on his plans to challenge a top 10 contender in his next fight.

“Every time you step in the ring you’re taking a chance,” Weaver said. “If I don’t look good then I allow people to say I’m too old or I can’t box anymore. But I have enough faith in myself to know I’m going to win.”

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First bell tonight is at 7:30.

Lloyd Weaver, one of Mike’s younger, triplet brothers, will meet Eric McNair in a middleweight bout scheduled for six rounds. Lloyd Weaver, also of Chino Hills, has a record of 8-2 with five KOs. McNair, from Chula Vista, has a record of 6-10-1.

Neither fighter has competed professionally in more than 2 1/2 years.

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The most-difficult bouts for matchmakers to set were those featuring Cuban defectors Diobelis Hurtado and Mario Iribarren.

Hurtado, 22, the 1994 world amateur champion at 132 pounds, will meet Francisco Rodriguez in a six-round junior welterweight matchup. Hurtado has won all five of his professional fights, three by knockout. Rodriguez, from Sonora, Mexico, is 11-4-1 with 10 KOs.

Iribarren, 25, former Pan American Games champion and a veteran of more than 300 amateur fights, will face a still-undetermined opponent. Iribarren, who, like Hurtado, has made all of his previous professional appearances in Miami, has a record of 4-0 with three KOs.

Show organizers failed in their attempt to match Iribarren against Don Goodwin, a big puncher from Canoga Park who carries a record of 5-3 with four KOs.

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Also on the undercard is a super bantamweight bout between Pedro Rodriguez of Puerto Rico (5-2-1, four KOs) and Victor Flores of Jalisco, Mexico (5-3-2, four KOs) scheduled for six rounds; a super lightweight bout between Mark Lewis of Las Vegas (7-1, five KOs) and Jacinto Martinez of Sonora, Mexico (no record available) scheduled for five rounds; a cruiserweight bout between Serge Larteuer of Paris (0-1) and Angel Arreola of Fresno (2-1-2, one KO) scheduled for four rounds; and a lightweight bout between Regino Marquez of Sepulveda (1-5) and Ricardo Calvillo of Los Angeles (0-3) scheduled for four rounds.