Illinois youth wrestler sucker punches his opponent after suffering defeat

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.  

A spokesperson for the Oak Park Police Department confirmed that the parents of the two minors are cooperating with the investigation, as reports break that the parents of the young man who was punched are pressing assault charges. 

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. 

SORE LOSER: Shocking footage went viral after eighth grader Hafid Alicea, of Maine West High School, delivered a sucker punch to Cooper Corder after tasting defeat

The incident occurred in Oak Park, Illinois, during a third-place, 125-128 pound match

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.

One woman – who may have been Corder’s mother – could be heard screaming, ‘What the f**k!’ as she rushed over to check on the crumpled Corder. 

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.

Cooper’s parents have reportedly filed assault charges, according to Pat Mineo of The Wrestling Room.

Cooper, a talented athlete, is a two-time Illinois state wrestling champion. His social media pages are full of medals, wrestling gear and competition photos. 

The incident is also under police investigation after it took place during the Beat the Street Developmental FS tournament

Cooper Corder is a two time Illinois state wrestling champion, who was assaulted by his opponent against whom he had just won a match

Corder will, at least temporarily, have to compete in a nose guard following an injury sustained during the attack

Hafid Alicia (right) was pulled off the court after throwing a punch at his opponent who had just defeated him

One observer, who viewed the video on Facebook, wrote: ‘Kids [sic] headed for a hard life if he can’t handle having his ass handed to him any better.’

A Twitter user wrote that Alicea should be banned from any future matches and barred from athletic scholarships. ‘Have his folks pay for damages. Kids these days are a nightmare, can’t deal with loss at all,’ he added.