Teen wrestler fakes handshake and sucker punches opponent in disturbing viral video

Michael Gwilliam
wrestler slaps opponent in viral video

A youth wrestler is going viral for all the wrong reasons after he attacked his opponent after losing a match in a disturbing act of unsportsmanlike behavior.

Police have launched an investigation after a high school wrestling match between Maine West’s Hafid Alicea and Cooper Corder of SPAR Wrestling Academy that turned ugly.

Alicea lost the lopsided match 14-2 and when the referee asked the two to shake hands after the bout, the wrestling began to look more like WWE than actual real wrestling.

In a viral clip of the incident, Alicea faked shaking Corder’s hand and instead smashed him in the face hard, much to the shock of everyone in attendance.

Wrestler breaks rival’s nose after faking handshake

Right after the punch, the referee escorted Alicea away while adults rushed to care for Corder who was hit so hard he fell to the floor.

The disastrous end to the April 8 Beat The Streets tournament resulted in Corder suffering a broken nose, but luckily, he’s already back to training according to TMZ.

“He is making the best of the situation and is already back to training,” SPAR Academy founder Justin Pearch told TMZ. “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.”

A spokesperson for Oak Park Police says that the parents of both wrestlers are cooperating with the investigation.

Since being posted to social media, the smack has been viewed over 500,000 times so far with many calling for charges to be filed against the teen.

This isn’t the first sport’s fight to make waves recently. Just this month, a charity hockey game between the NYPD and New York firefighters ended in multiple fights and cops being KO’d on the ice.

About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam