SPOKANE, Wash. — A well-respected boxing coach is recovering after being attacked in broad daylight over the weekend in downtown Spokane.
Rick Welliver, owner of Spokane Boxing Gym, was exercising at the Peaceful Valley Stairs on Sunday and says a group of young men confronted him. The stairs, located east of the Maple Street Bridge, are a regular part of Welliver’s fitness routine, but this visit was different for him.
According to Rick, the group asked if he had a phone on him. When he refused to hand it over, the attackers struck him in the back of the head with a metal object, causing him to fall down the stairs.
“The next thing you know, I’m seeing black…. And hearing voices,” Welliver said of the moment of impact.
Once on the ground, Welliver’s instincts kicked in. “[I] landed….. face down…. and knew to kind of turtle up,” he recalled. The boxing coach positioned his hands strategically to protect his face, but says the group continued to stomp and kick him throughout his body.
Welliver says as they were kicking him, he heard one of his attackers say, “That’s the boxing coach.” Afterwards, he says he was found injured by a couple who was walking nearby, and they called for help. He was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for a traumatic brain injury requiring stitches, a sprained ankle, and bruises across his body.
“Why would somebody do this? I didn’t deserve that,” he said.
Welliver was released from the hospital and his students are visiting him at the gym to check up on him.
“This is going to be a long road. I can tell,” Welliver acknowledged.
Ricks said he will not close the Spokane Boxing Gym, he just needs time away from training to rest and recover from his injuries.
Spokane police have not identified any suspects, and the investigation remains ongoing.
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