A youth wrestler is being investigated after throwing a nasty sucker punch at his opponent following an eighth-grade match in which the athletes were merely expected to shake hands.
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The incident took place in Oak Park, Illinois, and was captured on video.
The alleged assailant, Hafid Alicea of Maine West High School, had just lost a third-place match to Cooper Corder of SPAR Academy by a 14-2 count.
When Corder attempted to shake hands, Alicea threw a mean right hook, sending Corder to the mat. Coaches quickly intervened as Alicea returned to the bench. A female and male adult took exception as coaches attempted to keep the peace. The male was believed to be Corder’s coach.
Nasty Sucker Punch
Post-match handshakes are customary in wrestling at all levels.
Corder suffered a nose injury, though he has returned to competition while wearing a facemask.
“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 are investigating the incident.