Wise Owl Brings Boxing, Cancer Fight Entertainers Under One Roof

Boxing executive Mark Habibi manages the likes of junior middleweight contenders Charles Conwell and Brandon Adams as part of his company, Wise Owl Boxing.

Outside of arranging matchups for his roster, another fight is equally important for Habibi, and that’s knocking out cancer.

Habibi will bring boxing, charity and entertainment under one roof in the “Butterfly Brawl” on June 6 at the Academy LA in Hollywood, California, as he continues his yearslong quest for raising money for the Warrior of the Light Foundation and City of Hope in honor of his cousin Yassy Hosseini, who passed away from breast cancer in 2016 at the age of 39.

The fundraising event will feature a six-fight card topped by the Habibi-managed junior welterweight prospect DeAngelo Evans (10-0, 9 KOs) taking on Freddy Espinoza (10-4, 7 KOs) in a six-round contest.

The “Butterfly Brawl” will be equal parts pugilism and party, as Grammy Award-winning artist Jermaine Dupri will headline the show with a performance. 

Steve Bash of Bash Boxing is promoting the event.

“I hope Yassy is looking down from above and is proud of what we’ve accomplished over the years,” Habibi told BoxingScene. “It’s not easy to put an event like this together, but we put in our time and energy because we know we’re helping the fight against cancer. This disease has affected everyone in one way or another. I’m asking everyone to come out and support this event as we raise money, have fun and fight back.”

Habibi said the Warrior of the Light Foundation was created to celebrate the life of Hosseini, who battled cancer for seven years, all while dedicating herself to raising funds for the City of Hope. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised to date, said Habibi.

This year’s event marks the first time that Habibi is bringing boxing into the fundraising fold. The previous three iterations were billed as the “Butterfly Ball” and featured performances by the Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg, Too Short and Anderson Paak. 

The rest of the boxing action on Thursday will include Isaiah Carr (1-0, 1 KO) taking on Jose Cruz (2-4, 1 KO) in a four-round super middleweight fight; Eryk Apresyan (9-1, 6 KOs) fighting Darynn Leyva (2-7-1, 1 KO) in a six-round super middleweight bout; Oscar Herrera and Zion Alefosio making their heavyweight debuts in a four-round affair; junior welterweight Deni Davtian also making his pro debut against William Davis (2-1-1, 1 KO); and featherweights Alfred Moss Jr. (1-6, 1 KO) and Eric Han (0-0-1) also squaring off. 

Tickets for the Butterfly Brawl can be purchased here.

Attendees must be at least 21 years old to attend. 

For more information, donations or sponsorships, email [email protected] or [email protected].