Trailblazer for NZ and Samoa
title to New Zealand against Andy Ruiz Jr.’’
Those sentiments were echoed by Parker and his trainer Kevin Barry Jr, Parker describing Peau as a ‘‘Samoan boxing icon and pioneer’’.
‘‘You, along with many other greats, some passed and some who are still with us today, paved the way for us up and coming fighters to be seen an heard on an international scale, so for that THANK YOU,’’ Parker said on Instagram.
Barry’s father, Kevin Sr, was in Peau’s corner when he won gold at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, the highlight of an impressive amateur career.
Peau turned pro in 1989 to great success, winning the Australian heavyweight title twice before beating three former world champions in Tony Tubbs, Trevor Berbick and Tim Witherspoon.
In 1993, he knocked out Bowen in the fifth round to capture the WBF belt. And after losing to Britain’s Johnny Nelson in Auckland, added the IBO title to his CV the following year with victory over American Richard Mason.
Yet perhaps his most famous performance came in 1997 when he knocked out American Crawford Grimsley with a vicious right hand in just 1.5 seconds.
‘‘Jimmy Peau was a physical specimen, a successful amateur and professional fighter that paved a way for a lot of Polynesian fighters that followed after him,’’ Barry Jr told
‘‘Genetically he was very gifted with strength and explosive power. His powerful physique and big right hand made him a very exciting, entertaining heavyweight.
‘‘One only wonders how much better he could have been with the right management.’’
Despite the spectacular display against Grimsley, Peau’s career petered out after that bout, winning only three of his last 10 fights. He finished with a pro record of 35-14.
In an all too familiar tale in boxing, he fell on hard times later in life with a news team finding him living rough on the streets of Las Vegas in 2010.
Peau also struck immigration issues in the US before eventually returning to New Zealand and Angove took heart from the fact he was able to spend the last six years surrounded by loved ones.
‘‘We need to remember two things; Jimmy at his height, not just what he gave for New Zealand but what he did for Samoa,’’ he said.
‘‘We also need to remember the importance of being around for people once the high times have gone. The entourage, the people who blow smoke up your butt will be around for the high times but it’s in the low moments when it really counts.
‘‘That is when you know who your family is and his family got around him. They were able to bring him back to New Zealand and wrap their arms around him.’’