Boxing Mysteries Part 10-Who had said this quote ?

[Caractacus]

I came across this while reading the book
THE BLACK LIGHTS-Inside the World of Professional Boxing
by Thomas Hauser (published 1986)
in the book he quotes from interviews of his of a number of boxers and trainers from
over the years.
However one paragraph really has stuck in my mind over the past 40 years.
i think it may have had to do as to what makes a champion a champion
(in any field) I will quote the paragraph (verbatim) and you try and figure out who had sai it.

[Caractacus]

page 119 of THE BLACK LIGHTS by Thomas Hauser (1986)

"There's a story a former world champion tells that says a lot about the desire to win.
It's embarrassing in part, and he tells it on the condition of anonymity.
This fighter once went into the ring against a younger, faster, stronger foe.
for the first eight rounds he was beaten badly.
then against all odds he rallied to salvage the crown.
"How did you do it?" the fighter was asked. "I know about courage, but where do you find the strength and inner resources to do what you had to do ?"
And the fighter answered,
"Sometimes, it's like you do things that physically you don't think you can. It's like, one time when I was seventeen, I was on a date with this girl in the park.
I had to sh*t, so I went to the men's room, but it was locked. I had to go real bad so we looked for another men's room but we couldn't find one, and it was getting worse so we started to walk out of the park to go to a restaurant or bar.
I was wearing white shorts and a T-shirt to show off my body.
I liked this girl. I wanted to impress her because I liked her a lot.
My stomach got worse. My bowels were pushing or whatever, and suddenly I realized I was going to Sh*t in my pants.
I fought it. it was like every ounce of strength I had was working to keep it in. I had to keep it in because, if I shitted in my pants in front of this girl, I'd die. And we walked. I could hardly talk and I felt it slipping but I held it in.
i controlled myself physically, and we got to a bar, and I made it into the men's room and practically sh*tted all over the floor.
That's the kind of effort you need in the ring. when you're getting pounded, when you're getting beat bad, you say to yourself, if I lose this fight I'll die.".

[gilgamesh]

Was the interview in 1986 or just published in a book in 1986. Like could the interview have been prior to 1986? Or better yet, was the person that said that alive in 1986?

[bwu]

Billy Costello, I think.

[Caractacus]

I thought when I first read the book in 1986, that it was Billy Costello too.
( since he was the main subject of the book by Thomas Hauser)
However in re-reading the book many years later , the person mentioned in it was or had been already a champion,
that was getting older by the time the fight happened , so I guess they person had too have been in their early 30's
at least when that fight took place.
also that they were defending a title, it also said he was being beatin in the first 8 rounds, so it must have been
a 15 rounder where the person rallied to win the fight and keep the crown
However Billy Costello didn't win a championship belt(junior welterweight) until January 1984 and was only 29 years old in 1985,
so cross him off the list.

[Expug]

Saoul Mamby the guy?

[Caractacus]

It could have been earlier then 1985, it wasn't made clear in the book.
However the author thanked a lot of name fighters at the beginning of the book.
I have written a list of the names here in the order of their birth(and their ages in 1985) to exclude any bias
in trying to guess whom it actually may have been.

Floyd Patterson (50)
Jose Torres (49)
Emile Griffin (47)
Muhammad Ali (43)
Joe Frazier (41)
Saul Mamby (38)
Larry Holmes (36)
Vito Antuofermo (32)
Marvelous Marvin Hagler (31)
Billy Costello (29)
Sugar Ray Leonard (29)
Michael Spinks (29)
Pinklon Thomas (28)
Davey Moore (27)
Ray Mancini (24)
Mark Breland (22)
Edwin Rosario (21)

[Caractacus]

Saoul Mamby the guy?

Hey thats who I came to the conclusion it may have been
last night when I made out the list !
( at first I thought it may have been Sugar Ray Leonard)
but he was not defending the crown when he fought Kevin Howard
and he was still in his late 20's)
perhaps there may be a clue in this interview that he had given.

[bennie]

Matthew Saad Muhammad?