The Cellar Gym brought two fighters to compete in the WAKO North American Century Cup tournament in Markham, Toronto on September 25th through 28th. We’re very proud of our fighters for bringing their best performances and representing Team USA.

In his first fight of the weekend, Javier showed skill, composure, and grit against a slick opponent from Mexico and came away with the unanimous decision to advance to the finals. Javi showed great understanding of the scoring system along with vicious low kicks and range awareness. In an unfortunate situation on finals day, Javier won by way of disqualification, becoming the new North American Champion. However, this doesn’t take away from his performance in the semifinals’ Javier earned this belt with the way he fought, regardless of how the tournament ended. On to Abu Dhabi in November! We’re proud of you, Javier. Congratulations, champ–on to Abu Dhabi in November!

At this tournament, Ava Kehrer stepped onto the international stage for the very first time. She faced an aggressive opponent from Turkey and ultimately lost by TKO in the first round due to the three 8-count rule. We felt the first count came a little early, and from there it was tough for Ava to fully regain her composure. Ava handled herself like a professional, gained valuable experience, and now has her sights set on Pan Ams in December. This was just the beginning. We’re proud of the way she represented her team and herself.

Congratulations to our fighters!