Boxer Jimmy Thunder has died at Auckland Hospital following an operation on a brain tumour.

The 54-year-old, who won a gold medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in the super heavyweight division, passed away in his sleep.

Thunder, whose original name was Ti'a James Senio Peau, was born in Apia, Samoa, but grew up in Auckland.

He turned professional in 1989 and had 35 wins and 14 losses over a career that ended in 2002.

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Thunder, who changed his name to go with his professional game and always presented himself in prime condition for fights, won the Australian heavyweight title twice.

He also laid claim to winning two world heavyweight belts - the World Boxing Federation's and the International Boxing Organisation's versions - in the alphabet soup of titles that litter the sport.

He was an early winner of the IBO title, a belt that is now deemed to be the fifth most important and has subsequently been held by Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko, Tyson Fury, Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua.

He recorded one of the fastest knockouts in heavyweight history when he floored American Crawford Grimsley with the first punch - after just 1.5s - of their 1997 fight. Grimsley was then counted out.

Thunder later laughed about that win: "I was hungry. I missed out on my lunch and I missed out on dinner, and I was getting ready for the fight and I walked past the buffet and I said `damn man, I wanna go eat'."

Some of his big name victims included Americans Tim Witherspoon and Tony Tubbs.

Thunder was the forerunner to a period of remarkable heavyweight success for New Zealand boxing. Fellow Samoans David Tua and Joseph Parker followed his trail with Parker going on to win the respected World Boxing Organisation's belt.

He once said it was his upbringing that led him into boxing as his family shifted from the islands to south Auckland.

"I was at primary school and some kids tried to take my lunch. You've got to defend yourself if you're Samoan, or else you'll get killed!", he said.

South Auckland boxing icon Gerry Preston took him in and trained him to be a champion.

Thunder fell on hard times later in his life in the United States where he had based himself, fighting 25 times there.

A Stuff news team found him living rough on the streets of Las Vegas in 2010.

"We know what he went through and what he has achieved. He has been quite embarrassed to even face his own family. But he achieved a lot in his career and he has nothing to be ashamed of," his brother Chris said.

Thunder's fortunes improved on meeting Iris Whitemagpie in 2008, and they married in a non-legal Native American ceremony in 2009.

But Thunder struck immigration problems in the United States, not helped by a conviction for assault, battery and substantial bodily harm after an altercation at a Las Vegas street party in 2012. He eventually returned to New Zealand.

New Zealand boxing historian Dave Cameron remembered Peau as being "huge at one stage" and the biggest name of his generation before David Tua arrived.

"He had a real punch. And he was a really friendly guy."