Hafid Alicea: Illinois wrestler, 14, cited for assault after sucker punching rival Cooper Corder over defeat
OAK PARK, ILLINOIS: The Oak Park Police Department has issued a citation to Hafid Alicea, a 14-year-old Illinois youth wrestler, after he admitted to officers that he punched his opponent in the face because he was angry about losing their fight. According to TMZ, the incident occurred during a wrestling match in March and the parents of the victim, Cooper Corder, have reportedly decided to press charges against Alicea.
During the 'Beat the Street Developmental FS tournament' held in Oak Park, Illinois, Alicea from Maine West High School was defeated by Corder of SPAR Academy in a third-place, 125-128 pound match with a score of 14-2. However, Corder never expected his wrestling match to end the way it did.
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Hafid Alicea of Maine West (IL) throws a sucker punch at the line… #wtf pic.twitter.com/9m4HAxl2oF
— The Wrestling Room (Pat Mineo) (@MrPatMineo) April 14, 2023
Hafid Alicea threw an unexpected punch at Cooper Corder
After the wrestling match ended, Cooper, who was wearing an orange singlet representing SPAR Academy, went to shake hands with Alicea, wearing blue representing Maine West High School. However, Alicea faked a handshake just before throwing a sucker punch that dropped Corder to the mat, displaying boxing technique rather than wrestling. A woman, who may have been Corder's mother, rushed over to check on him and could be heard screaming, "What the f**k!" in shock.
'I'm going to be known as the kid who got punched'
Despite the severity of the punch, it appears that Corder's injuries were not as serious as initially thought, as he only suffered a nose injury. However, as a precautionary measure, he will have to wear a face mask during his upcoming matches. The young wrestler, who has had an impressive record of over 500 wins since he was four years old, has shared his thoughts on the incident that occurred during the match. He said, "I didn't want to retaliate. And I didn't want to get hit again. At these next couple of tournaments, I'm going to be known as the kid who got punched. But I don't want that to oversee all of my accomplishments. I would love to wrestle at a Division I level and accomplish other things I want to in life, like Olympic gold medals and all of that," as per CBSNews.
Corder is healing and is already back to training
SPAR Academy founder Justin Pearch said, "He is making the best of the situation and is already back to training. 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."