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It Just Wouldn’t be a Knucklemania Press Conference Without John Garbarino Weaponizing a Cannoli
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Knucklemania is returning to the Xfinity Mobile Arena in February, and the main card is headlined by former UFC fighters Ben Rothwell, Andrei Arlovski, and Yoel Romero.
But the most intriguing bout is Philly’s John Garbarino vs. Kaine Tomlinson Jr., which provided us a scuffle at Wednesday’s press conference after Garbarino threw a cannoli at Tomlinson:
lol
Let’s go over the background story.
Last year, Garbarino went viral when he smashed a cannoli over the head of opponent Apostle Spencer during faceoffs. He then KO’d Spencer in the first round and proposed to his girlfriend in front of a record Philadelphia combat sports crowd. He had the best week ever.
On the same card, Philadelphia’s Patrick Sullivan was brutally KO’d by Tomlinson Jr., who is now fighting Garbarino at this edition of Knucklemania.
So there’s an interesting angle to this fight. Garbarino has an opportunity to avenge fellow Philly guy Sullivan, who is also going to be on this card, and therefore was at the press conference. That’s Sullivan in the tan newsboy hat and plaid suit jumping into the fray as Garbarino and Tomlinson were separated.
For what it’s worth, according to Tapology, Tomlinson Jr. hasn’t won a fight since he KO’d Sullivan in Philadelphia. He’s 0-2 in bare knuckle and and 0-1 in boxing with a no contest back in September. Garbarino is 2-0 in the past year, both bare knuckle KO/TKOs, while Sullivan is 1-0 with a win over Austin Peterson at the July Fight Night that took place at the 2300 Arena.
I’m so juiced up for Knucklemania. Garbarino vs. Tomlinson Jr. with the vengeance angle? Awesome! Then you’ve got Pat Sullivan trying to change his personal story by returning to the stage where he suffered a viral KO loss. Throw in a couple of absolute tanks in the main and co-main event and we’re cooking with gas!
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com