BoxRec

Its been reported that Jimmy Thunder the ex heavyweight boxer has passed away aged 54.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/sport/o ... 6CZi6oTNWo

RIP Jimmy Thunder

Sad news.
RIP Jimmy.

Ah, sad news. He had an incredibly difficult time after retirement by all accounts. Is he the holder of the fastest ever knockout? The Crawford Grimsley fight...

chinarich wrote: ↑12 Feb 2020, 16:08 Ah, sad news. He had an incredibly difficult time after retirement by all accounts. Is he the holder of the fastest ever knockout? The Crawford Grimsley fight...

was that the 12 second fight?

MasterG wrote: ↑12 Feb 2020, 16:15

chinarich wrote: ↑12 Feb 2020, 16:08 Ah, sad news. He had an incredibly difficult time after retirement by all accounts. Is he the holder of the fastest ever knockout? The Crawford Grimsley fight...

was that the 12 second fight?

Made him fall of his own leg

MasterG wrote: ↑12 Feb 2020, 16:15

chinarich wrote: ↑12 Feb 2020, 16:08 Ah, sad news. He had an incredibly difficult time after retirement by all accounts. Is he the holder of the fastest ever knockout? The Crawford Grimsley fight...

was that the 12 second fight?

Yes. I believe it’s the fastest ever knockout but I might be wrong...

It definetly was at the time , don't know if it is now ,, Bit of a tragic figure actually , ended up homeles , and broke on the streets of Vegas i think it was ,, Not positive , but pretty sure the people of New Zealand raised some money to bring him home , Kiwi might be able to shed some light on that story

RIP. A lot of fun to watch.

I remember watching an ESPN classic fight of his on Bxnaton a while ago. It was one of them Tuesday Night Fight cards.

coneye wrote: ↑12 Feb 2020, 16:47 It definetly was at the time , don't know if it is now ,, Bit of a tragic figure actually , ended up homeles , and broke on the streets of Vegas i think it was ,, Not positive , but pretty sure the people of New Zealand raised some money to bring him home , Kiwi might be able to shed some light on that story

I recall sharing an article about his plight a few years back probably in the Aus / NZ forum. After he retired he ended up being used as a sparring partner and finished with fairly obvious brain damage. It was Vegas where he was homeless. Then was locked up prior to deportation because his green card expired but married a Native American woman who fought for him to stay in the US. Not sure what happened after that but evidently he ended up back home...

RIP

I remember Thunder coming over to box Derrick Williams and being dropped and stopped quickly. I then actually saw him fight Henry Akinwande in Catford in a fairly dull affair (as all Akinwande fights were).

After that he put a good run together and even started moving towards contender status, but fell short again.

Hope he didn't die in bad circumstances but 54 is pretty young.

Jimmy could undoubtedly whack. I remember him winning heavyweight gold at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986 (Lennox Lewis won super-heavy gold). He pulled out a beautiful right uppercut to finish Scotland's Doug Young in the third round, after Young had outboxed him to roars from the home crowd. Thunder also flattened the Canadian entrant and the Canadians were dynamite in the Games. The man looked a great prospect, drawing inevitable comparisons to Tom Heeney, but it wasn't to be. Rest in peace, Jimmy.

Victories over Berbick, Tim Witherspoon and Tubbs..........great names on his record.

RIP The thunder from down under.

Was he in any good slugfests worth checking out?

RIP.
The only knockout that I can recall that might of been quicker is the recent Tete one.

It a real shame.
Jimmy dropped off he face of the earth for about 8 years. He was homeless, and could not get work or get out of the states as he lost his documentation. He came right and married a native American lady. But their marriage was a traditional one and not recognised in America, so he got deported to NZ. He was so proud, he didn't want to come home and face his family.
I only saw him fight once, as an Am.

Autobarn wrote: ↑13 Feb 2020, 10:55Was he in any good slugfests worth checking out?

Against Eli Dixon, but I can't find it online anywhere.

Rip