BKFC is returning to Xfinity Mobile Arena next Saturday night for their flagship event, Knucklemania VI. One of the biggest stars from last year's show, Johnny "Cannoli" Garbarino, is returning to put his hometown on his back against Kaine Tomlinson Jr.
Last year was the perfect storm for Garbarino. He gained instant popularity when he smacked Apostle Spencer with a cannoli during the weigh-in.
He then went on to dominate Spencer the next night and propose to his girlfriend, now fiancée, in the center of the ring.
Ahead of next weekend's event, Garbarino met with Philly Sports Network to discuss his introduction to fighting, last year's star-making performance, and what he has in store this year.
My motivation came from our heritage and a lot of the movies I was brought up around, like Rocky. I’ve also been around many of the traditional fighters from the area, who have been very inspirational to me.
As far as getting into fighting, I found myself in unlucky situations. I think the trouble found me. A lot of the circles I would hang out in, I was fighting other people’s battles and I had a lot of heart. It just kind of found me.
But at this point in my life, it’s all paying off as I built my skillset and the courage to fight in front of 20,000 people. Before graduating from [the Gloucester County Institute of Technology], I was training in martial arts and always having to fight was part of who I was, what my identity was growing up.
I wake up and do cardio or a training session. Once finished, I would check in with my business partner, who’s also my brother-in-law. We run three companies together. Property and casualty is just one branch of what we do.
Mitigation is another part. We are adept in stopping further damage from occurring. If your pipe breaks, if a fire breaks out, my team and I get in there. We clean up the damages, document everything properly, and we can also do the repairs- I have a construction company as well.
My life really doesn’t stop. In between jobs, I’m running back and forth in between trainings. I’d like to say I have a work-life balance but I really don’t. I’m 30 years old and feel like I don’t have enough time in a day or in life, so I just try to get after it one task at a time.
You’re not going to believe this, but a lot of it was spur of the moment. Everything in the lead-up to the fight and after was completely organic.
Initially, I just wanted to relate to the audience and show everyone that I am a proud Italian. I got two boxes of cannolis, handed one to the promoter, one to Conor McGregor, and one to my debut opponent, Apostle Spencer.
The way [Spencer] was holding the cannoli pissed me off and he was looking at me funny. I’m not sure what got into me because I was being too kind, so I slapped it out of his hand. He charged at me, and as I was backing up, I almost fell off the stage. In order to stand my ground, I hit him with a left hook, and I just so happened to have the last cannoli in my hand.
For the fight, I walked out and prayed to God, I leave it in his hands and I just fight my butt off. I didn’t get hit one time out of 27 punches thrown. And I knocked him out, broke his orbital bone and his nose.
With the proposal, the funny thing was, I didn’t have a ring. I remember calling my jeweler a couple days before the fight and I asked if the ring was ready. Turns out there was a miscommunication and I was not going to have it in time for the fight. I thought it wasn’t meant to be.
The night of the fight, about an hour before I checked in, my business partner called me. He was at another jeweler and said we should get a temporary ring so I could propose after the fight, and I would give her the real one when it’s ready.
I was hesitant. I did not want to give her a fake ring in front of thousands of people with all eyes on us. I didn’t know if the ring was going to look cheap, be too small, or any number of issues.
My business partner said he could get a replica that looked like a real diamond, so he did. He actually ran it through the stands right before I walked out for the fight. I gave it to my team, nobody had any warning, and I said after that after that fight I was going to propose.
After I won and got my hand raised, my cornerman gave me the ring and everything else came naturally. It was a beautiful, fairytale night. You could make a movie about it.
I feel like he’s underestimating me. Just because I am friends with Pat Sullivan (Tomlinson defeated Sullivan last year at Knucklemania V), he thinks I am Pat Sullivan or that I fight like him. That’s not the case. I know that I’m going to surprise him next Saturday night and it’s going to be my moment. He’s very cocky.
Getting my hand raised.
Whatever it takes.
You can watch Johnny "Cannoli" Garbarino take on Kaine Tomlinson Jr. in a Middleweight matchup during BKFC's Knucklemania VI on Saturday, Feb. 7. The evening begins at 7 p.m. and will feature 13 total bouts, making for one of the most talent-packed events in BKFC history. For tickets and more information, visit bkfc.com
