GOLD STANDARD: Danaher goes 3-0 to claim Pan American kickboxing championship

Danny Federico

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The Brazilian team did not enter quietly.

As teams filed into the opening ceremony of the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) Pan American Kickboxing Championships, held Wednesday, Aug. 12, through Sunday, Aug. 16, in Olmué, Chile, the Brazilian delegation arrived roaring and chanting. Sitting among Team USA was Branford native Steven Danaher, who knew his first fight of the tournament would be against one of their own.

But the noise didn't intimidate him. Rather, it energized him.

“I knew our fight was gonna be epic,” Danaher recalled.

Three fights in three days later, the noise surrounding Danaher sounded a little different.

This time, they were chants of “U.S.A.” as he stood, wrapped in an American flag, as a Pan American champion.

Danaher captured gold in the 71-kilogram Low Kick division, defeating two fighters from Brazil and one from Chile.

Each presented a different challenge. But waiting in the final was the man Danaher considered the best fighter he faced: a tough, experienced Brazilian who, according to Danaher, had knocked out his first two opponents in the first round.

Yet when Danaher stepped toward the biggest fight of his career, he did not feel overwhelmed. Instead, he felt “free.”

“I put in so much work to get to this point,” Danaher said. “I felt free to go out there and perform to the best of my ability. I was ready.”

Sensei Shane Walker had formulated the game plan. Danaher’s job was to execute it.

Walker had long told him that medals are won in training and collected at competition. In the final, Danaher said years of preparation came together as he delivered his most dominant performance of the tournament.

“I knew this was my moment from the start,” he said.

Then came the flag and the chants. His family, teammates and those closest to him celebrated around him.

“The moment was epic,” Danaher said. “I was grateful for the moment.”

It was a moment four years in the making.

Danaher’s path to international gold began far from the Pan American stage. In August 2022, he walked into Fight Fitness 618 in Marion, Ill., for a cardio kickboxing class. Walker eventually convinced him to try sparring, and Danaher entered his first point competition that November.

From there came tournament after tournament, lesson after lesson. Danaher progressed through WAKO’s novice, intermediate and advanced levels, winning three national championships and eventually earning a place on Team USA.

But Danaher does not point to one victory as the reason he reached Chile.

“It wasn’t one moment, rather an accumulation of doing the right things, learning from mistakes, staying the course and always seeking growth and improvement that got me to this point,” he said.

He likens the journey to a seed planted four years ago inside Walker’s dojo. The championship, he said, is the result of years spent watering and nourishing it. Those years demanded sacrifice.

“Either you sacrifice for your goals or your goals become the sacrifice,” Danaher said.

They also required help. Danaher credited Walker and training partner Damon Danaher, as well as the family members, friends, businesses and supporters who helped make his trip possible.

And after all that work, Danaher finally has his Pan American gold.

He has little interest in resting on it.

“I’m never 100% satisfied,” Danaher said. “I’m far from complacent.”

The medal has been won. The moment has passed. For Danaher, more work is already waiting.

“It is done and gone. It’s history now,” he said. “It’s in the books, but the story continues. There is much more to be written.”