Samoan-born, New Zealand boxer Jimmy 'Thunder' Peau has died, aged 54.
Peau passed away in his sleep at Auckland Hospital on Thursday morning, after recently undergoing brain surgery on a tumour.
As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games and turned professional, after missing selection for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, compiling a record of 35 wins and 14 losses over a career that ended in 2002.
His career highlights included two Australian heavyweight titles, and IBO and WBF heavyweight titles. Among his most notable scalps were Canadian Trevor Berbick, and Americans Tony Tubbs and Tim Witherspoon - all world heavyweight champions at different times for different organisations.
Peau was known for his devastating power, hence his nickname, and was involved in one of the shortest fights in boxing history, when he had Crawford Grimsley counted out 13 seconds into their 1997 bout.
But in his later years, Peau fell on hard times, living rough in Las Vegas, and spending time in a US prison for assault, battery and substantial bodily harm.
