Jimmy Thunder, born February 3, 1966 in Apia, Upolu, Samoa as James Peau, is a Samoan boxer who fought in several noteworthy boxing matches in the 1990s and 2000s. Thunder is also a cousin of professional wrestling and film superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Known for his heavy punching power, Thunder turned pro in 1989 and fought many future champions in the heavyweight division in his career. Although he held some fringe titles, he never fought for a major belt. Among his notable victories are wins over Tony Tubbs, Trevor Berbick, and Tim Witherspoon, all of whom were on the downward slope of their careers at the time. He is best known for his losses, often dramatic KO's at the hands of heavy punchers. In his pro career, Thunder has lost to Mike Hunter, Henry Akinwande, John Ruiz, Maurice Harris, Chris Byrd, Monte Barrett, Charles Shufford, Andre Purlette, and Paea Wolfgramm.
On the March 18, 1997, edition of USA's Tuesday Night Fights, Thunder met Crawford Grimsley (20-1)in a scheduled 10 round main event. In the first two seconds of the first round, Grimsley threw a lazy left and Thunder countered with an overhand right hand that sent Grimsley crashing to the canvas. By the time the referee had waved the fight as a knockout the time of the fight had been recorded as 10 seconds in the first round. At the time, Thunder's KO victory was viewed as highly impressive, because Crawford had previously gone the distance against noted power-puncher George Foreman.
