- April 19, 2023
- 5 minutes read
Illinois youth wrestler sucker punches his opponent after suffering defeat
Sore loser! Shocking moment youth wrestler sucker punches rival in the FACE during post-game handshake after defeat
The incident between both eighth graders took place at a tournament in IllinoisBoth minors wrestled to determine who’d come out on top of a third-place matchDailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Shocking footage shows the moment a youth wrestler delivered a sucker punch to his opponent after tasting defeat, sending his rival crashing to the mat.
The brutal blow came following the match’s completion, when both minors were set to shake hands.
The incident occurred in Oak Park, Illinois, during a third-place, 125-128 pound match at this year’s edition of the Beat the Street Developmental FS tournament, according to TMZ Sports.
Cooper Corder, representing SPAR Academy and wearing an orange singlet, came out victorious against Hafid Alicea, of Maine West High School. The eighth grader won by a scoreline of 14-2.
As he was set to shake hands with Alicea, who wore blue, post-match, he was taken out in cold fashion by his opponent, sending him straight to the floor.
Alicea was then immediately taken off the mat by observers in the crowd as other kids and their parents were shocked with what had just transpired.
Corder seems to have come out of the incident a lot better than initially feared, only suffering a nose injury.
He’s believed to have to wear a face mask during his next matches, however.
‘He is making the best of the situation and is already back to training,’ SPAR Academy founder Justin Pearch told TMZ Sports. ‘As you may know, wrestling matches can get heated but nothing leading up to the punch would give cause to such bad decision-making on the opponent’s part.
‘It’s not tolerated in our sport and Spar Wrestling will never condone that behavior.’
Oak Park Police Department is now reportedly involved and is investigating the incident.