Ti'a James Senio Peau (3 February 1966 – 13 February 2020), known professionally as Jimmy Thunder, was a Samoan-born New Zealand

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who held the IBO

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

title from 1994 to 1995. He held multiple regional heavyweight titles, including the

OPBF The Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) is a professional boxing organization that sanctions title fights in the Asian and Pacific region. History Oriental boxing started in the Philippines in 1946 after the Spanish-American War. While ...

title from 1989 to 1991 and the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

title twice between 1992 and 1994.

Early life

During his early life and amateur career, Thunder was known as Jimmy Peau. His mother is from the village of Fasitoouta, and his father is from the village of Falelatai. Thunder was born third out of six siblings. While born in Apia, he grew up in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He went to school at Onehunga High School in Auckland. His friend introduced Thunder to Gerry Preston. Preston took on the young Samoan into his boxing gym in Mangere Bridge. In his early amateur days, Thunder became the first Samoan-born fighter to win a gold medal in the heavyweight division, representing

at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He defeated Dougie Young in his hometown by

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighter ...

. It was one of the nine gold medals won for New Zealand in that year. As an amateur he had 89 fights, finishing his amateur career with 83-6 record.

Career

Thunder turned pro in 1988, after being omitted from New Zealand's

Seoul Olympic Games 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 ...

team. He changed his surname from Peau to Thunder in 1989 at the suggestion of his manager at the time, Jack Rennie. Later in his professional career he also fought under the name James Thunder. Among his notable victories are wins over

Tony Tubbs Tony Tubbs (born February 15, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2006, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1985 to 1986. Amateur career As an amateur, Tony Tubbs competed in 253 bouts, compiling a reco ...

, Craig Peterson,

Trevor Berbick Trevor Berbick (1 August 1954 – 28 October 2006) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 2000. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Pinklon Thomas, then lost it in his first defense in the same year to M ...

, and

Tim Witherspoon Tim Witherspoon (born December 27, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2003. He was a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title in 1984, and the WBA title in 1986. Witherspoon also wo ...

. On the 18 March 1997 edition of the

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's Tuesday Night Fights he knocked out

Crawford Grimsley Crawford Grimsley (born October 1, 1967) is a retired professional heavyweight boxer and kickboxer, who fought several significant fighters of his era. He challenged once for the lineal, WBU and vacant IBA heavyweight titles in 1996, and onc ...

with his first punch, scoring the fastest knockout in history at 13 seconds, including the count of 10, which was not even begun, so it lasted 3 seconds, during the quick walk from his corner to the ring centre, immediately throwing the first and only punch with his last step. He finished his 49 fight career with 35 victories, 28 by knockout. Throughout his career he won regional titles including the Australian Heavyweight Champion twice as well as winning the lesser IBO and WBF

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

titles.

Professional boxing record

Personal life

Peau married his second wife, Iris White magpie, a Native American in 2008. The two met in 2006 and got married at Whitemagpie's reservation in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in a cultural ceremony. He had three children in

, from his first marriage. His eldest son, Louis, was selected for the

Samoa national rugby league team The Samoa national rugby league team represents Samoa in rugby league football and has participated in international competition since 1986. Known as Western Samoa before 1997, the team is administered by Rugby League Samoa and are nicknamed To ...

to play an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n selection side in 2010. He also represented the

Mt Albert Lions The Mount Albert Lions are a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. The Lions home ground is at Fowlds Park. Their patron is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. In 2008 and 2009 the Lions won the Fox Memorial. ...

at domestic level, playing at . After retirement in 2003, it was reported Peau was in financial debt. The Sunday Star-Times discovered he had been living homeless on the streets of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

in Sunset Park. World Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, Thell Torrance reported Peau would ask for handouts and turn up to boxing gyms, offering himself for sparring work and was often turned down due to poor conditioning. It was later revealed by close family he was given casual laboring work in a rehab center run by Native Americans and became a personal trainer and part-time bodyguard. Peau was arrested and charged for battery and substantial bodily harm after an altercation at a Las Vegas street party. He was released from the

Southern Desert Correctional Center Southern Desert Correctional Center (SDCC) is a state prison for men located in Indian Springs, Clark County, Nevada, owned and operated by the Nevada Department of Corrections. The capacity is 2149 inmates. Most are medium security. This fac ...

, north of Las Vegas, to US immigration, after his case was considered by an Immigration Court, seeing Peau in threat of being deported to

. Peau also had previous immigration issues, after being held by US immigration authorities three years prior until Whitemagpie paid a bond for his release after it was discovered he did not hold a

US green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

. Peau died in his sleep in Auckland on 13 February 2020, following brain surgery.

References

External links

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BoxingRecords
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thunder, Jimmy 1966 births 2020 deaths Samoan male boxers Boxers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Sportspeople from Apia International Boxing Organization champions New Zealand male boxers Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing Heavyweight boxers Samoan emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Onehunga High School People charged with battery New Zealand world boxing champions Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games