O Mara

With his needy people on one side and a stiff-backed U.N. on the other, Saddam Hussein got caught between Iraq and a hard place ("U.N. Will Let Iraq Sell Oil," May 21). JACK O'MARA Irvine

The next time George O'Mara wins one of the first three rounds of a fight may very well be the first time. O'Mara, a notoriously slow starter, was at it again Wednesday night in the co-main event of a five-bout show at the Warner Center Marriott. Only this time O'Mara didn't last long enough to rebound and make a good fight of it.

The fight will be held in a regulation boxing ring set in the middle of the Warner Center Marriott's Grand Ballroom. Experts say considerably less space is required. Justin Fortune and George O'Mara, heavyweights who will meet tonight in the main event of a five-bout card that starts at 7:30, are punchers who wouldn't know a dance step if they tripped over it. "They're going to meet head-on," said Freddie Roach, Fortune's trainer. "You could probably have this fight in a phone booth."

George O'Mara and Justin Fortune, heavyweights who lost their last bouts against big-name opponents, will square off in the 10-round co-main event of the boxing show Oct. 25 at the Warner Center Marriott. O'Mara (16-16-1), a part-time actor from Van Nuys, lost a unanimous decision to former heavyweight champion Mike Weaver in a bout for the National Boxing Assn. title in July. Fortune (11-3-1) of Australia is coming off a loss to former world champion Lennox Lewis.

George O'Mara knows who won the decision. His opponent, Mike Weaver. Two weeks ago at the Warner Center Marriott, Weaver, the former World Boxing Assn. heavyweight champion, and O'Mara duked it out for 12 rounds. One judge had Weaver winning every round, another had Weaver winning 11, and the third gave Weaver 10. But who really won the fight? O'Mara isn't certain. "I haven't seen the tape of it yet," he said this week. "And I was too busy at the time to keep score myself."

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.

His occupation is as plain as the nose on his face which, in its current posture, closely resembles the alignment of Florida's eastern coast. Wide, flat and battered, it bends east, then curves gradually westward. George O'Mara, professional boxer, has lost track of the times his nose has been broken, offering for certain only that it has been rerouted "more than once." No kidding.

By professional boxing standards the exchange was tame, but a pre-fight media gathering featuring National Boxing Assn. heavyweight champion Mike Weaver and challenger George O'Mara did have an anxious moment. Weaver, a former world champion, had just finished talking about who he might like to fight later this year, presumably after he defeats O'Mara on June 21 at the Warner Center Marriott. Mike Tyson was mentioned. So was Oliver McCall.