Weaver Outlasts O’Mara : Boxing: Heavyweight retains his title with unanimous decision at Warner Center Marriott.

Mike Weaver won the fight.

George O’Mara won the crowd.

Just as might have been expected.

Weaver, bigger and more powerful, retained his National Boxing Assn. heavyweight title Wednesday night at the Warner Center Marriott, defeating O’Mara, one tough Irishman, by unanimous decision in 12 rounds.

Weaver, from Chino Hills, won every round according to one judge. O’Mara won one round by one judge and two by another.

However, he won the respect of Weaver and a crowd of about 800, about half of whom were cheering him wildly at the finish.

The other half?

Many of them were wondering aloud how he withstood the punishment.

Truth be told, O’Mara only buckled once, when Weaver cracked him with a left-right combination in the 11th round.

Weaver, the former World Boxing Assn. champion, scored mostly with his renowned left hook, but O’Mara withstood every shot and was standing--and smiling--at the end.

O’Mara, 39, from North Hollywood, has a record of 15-16-1. Weaver, 44, won his 40th fight against 19 losses.

The main event was a slugfest, in stark contrast to the bout that preceded it, one in which former world amateur champion Diobelis Hurtado remained undefeated and unimpressive.

Hurtado thoroughly frustrated junior welterweight Francisco Rodriguez, exhibiting superb conditioning, stunning footwork, lightning-quick hands and . . . absolutely no punching power.

He didn’t need it against Rodriguez, from Tijuana, whose record dropped to 11-5-1. Hurtado has won all six of his professional bouts since defecting from Cuba.

Rodriguez simply couldn’t catch Hurtado, chasing him around the ring and slashing punches into nothing but air.

Several times Rodriguez paused to challenge his opponent by sticking out his chest and dropping his hands. Sometimes he paid for it on the judges’ cards, as Hurtado zipped in a few jabs.

On other occasions, Hurtado’s only response was a more-stylish dance step.

His nickname is “The Ring Dancer,” and for obvious reasons.

But style didn’t account for much with the Marriott crowd, which booed a decision it had to agree with.

The most-dominant performance on the undercard was turned in by Serge Larteuer, who evened his record at 1-1 by overwhelming Angel Arreola in the first round of a scheduled four-round cruiserweight bout.

Larteuer, from Belgium, stunned Arreola with a couple of big right-handed shots shortly after the opening bell, then took him down only 1:54 into the fight.

Arreola, from Fresno, took Larteuer’s final punch on the underside of his jaw, a blow which sent a shock wave through his body and crumpled his legs. His record fell to 2-2-2.

Mark Lewis, a super lightweight from Mira Loma, also was impressive in victory.

Lewis improved to 8-1 with his sixth knockout, stopping Jacinto Casarez, a haymaker-throwing left-hander from Phoenix, in the third round.

Casarez, his style as unorthodox as they come, gave Lewis trouble early, landing several sweeping left hooks in the early going.

But by the middle of the second round, Lewis started taking command, peppering his slower opponent with body punches. At the end of the round, a left followed by a straight right sent Casarez reeling into the ropes. He dropped to the canvas on one knee.

Casarez bounced up, but Lewis continued to press the action.

The start of the third round brought more body punches by Lewis, then a flurry of shots to the head that wobbled Casarez’s knees. Referee Lou Moret caught Casarez as he crumpled into a corner, stopping the action at 1:47 of the third round.