James Pagendam (born December 1, 1965, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

) is a boxer from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, competing in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

(– 57 kg) division. A resident of St. Catharines,

, he represented his native country at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul, South Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 o ...

. He was involved in one of the many controversies that engulfed the Olympic boxing tournament. In Pagendam's opening bout versus Tserendorj Amarjargal of

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, Ivorian referee Joseph Lougbo gave Tserendorj a standing-8 count in the second round. Pagendam was subsequently knocked down once in the second round, then climbed off the floor and soon knocked down Tserendorj. After that, the referee gave another standing-8 count against the Mongolian, which should have terminated the bout, according to international rules. In the third round, however, Pagendam was rocked by a punch to the head, and Lougbo stopped the bout, awarding the Mongolian the win. Afterwards, Canada protested, contending that Pagendam had actually won the bout in the second round. The protest was upheld, and

AIBA The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is an independent sport organization that sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches and awards world and subordinate cha ...

announced that the referee was suspended from the rest of the Games' boxing tournament. Later however, the Canadians were informed that although Pagendam was the winner of the bout, he could not continue in the tournament for medical reasons. According to AIBA rules, fighters whose bouts are stopped because of head blows may not fight again for 60 days. He also represented Canada at the 1994

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, losing his opening bout to Peter Richardson of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Jamie is the brother of Steve Pagendam. Steve, a featherweight, competed for Canada in the boxing tournament at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

References

External links

Canadian Olympic Committee
1965 births Living people Featherweight boxers Boxers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Canada Boxers from Toronto Boxers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Canadian male boxers {{Canada-boxing-bio-stub