How Inner nature and survival of the fittest relate to the relationship of mind and body in the case of Floyd Mayweathers boxing match against Victor Ortiz.

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A Boxer’s Instinct, What is a Human Being?

How Inner nature and survival of the fittest relate to the relationship of mind and body in the case of Floyd Mayweather’s boxing match against Victor Ortiz.

Candidate Number: 000875-022        

Name: Harrison Reece                

         IB Internal Assessment: Philosophy      

High Point Central High School        

Exam Session: May 2012                

Word Count: 1851

Source Stimulus:

http://straightfromthea.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Victor-Ortiz-Floyd-Mayweather-2011-Getty1.jpg

Victor Ortiz (left) getting knocked out by Floyd Mayweather (right).


What is a human being? Who are we and how do we function? What is the relationship between mind and body? What are the instincts that we are born with, can we control our instincts, and can we actually develop instincts over our life span? The relationship between mind and body can be studied through athletes and their relationships between mind and body throughout all sports, and how under certain circumstances they have innate reactions that they cannot control and that are out of their mind’s control. Examples of this are evident throughout sports as a whole, but perhaps portrayed best more so in a particular example through a boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz to become World Champion. The fight ended in a highly controversial manner, and because of its highly controversial outcome, in how Floyd Mayweather won, the bout it is widely debated if it was a fair outcome or was it unfair. Many people believe that Mayweather won in an unfair manner by throwing a knockout punch at a defenseless Ortiz in the fourth round of the fight, but was it truly unfair, what were the factors that played a role in Mayweather’s actions, such as the philosophical concepts of the relationship between mind and body, and inner nature such as survival of the fittest.

Floyd Mayweather is considered by many to be one of the greatest boxers if not the greatest boxer in the world today and perhaps of all time. He has never been beaten in his boxing career and he retired after obtaining an astounding record of 40 victories and 0 losses. No other boxer has accomplished what he has been able to accomplish and very few hold records near him. However he came out of retirement at the age of 34 and won his comeback debut fight with ease against a rather weak opponent, after the fight he decided it was time to take a shot to fight for the World Title and perhaps regain his position as World champion. With a record of 41 wins and 0 losses that he now obtained, he decided to fight the then current world champion Victor Ortiz and attempt to regain the title of World Champion. Boxing is a sport unlike any other, the athletes train for months at a time just to prepare for one fight where as in other sports; athletes and teams train constantly but also participate in official contests weekly and even nightly in some cases such as football, baseball, basketball, etc, but not boxing. After nearly half of one full year of training and preparing everyday for hours, the fighters met in the ring. During the course of the fight most believed that Mayweather was winning regardless at that point, but in the fourth round Ortiz hit Mayweather with an illegal headbutt. Any type of hit used with one’s own head is completely illegal. The umpire separated the two boxers at this time and as an instinct as a boxer when the umpire separates the fighters, they come to the middle, hug, and then break away again. Ortiz and Mayweather hugged, but Ortiz after separating came again to the middle to hug Mayweather a second, an unusual action. An innate instinct as a boxer is always to keep your guard up and be ready to fight at all times. When Ortiz backed away from Mayweather the second time, he was defenseless with his hands by his side, when Mayweather saw this he immediately took two shots at the defenseless Ortiz and knocked him out. Just like that, the fight was over in just around ten minutes after months of endless training and Mayweather was crowned World Champion. How unfair were Floyd Mayweather’s actions though? With the art of boxing flowing through Mayweather’s blood, how much did the relation between mind and body play a role in the outcome, and as unfair as the outcome may have seen, could he really control the actions he took to end the fight and end Ortiz’s reign as World Champion and take the title as his own or was it survival of the fittest?

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Floyd grew up in rough conditions as a child but found his calling in boxing with the help of his uncle and father, with his father giving him a start into boxing and his uncle becoming his lifelong coach. Practically his whole life he has been boxing, and through the years he has spent and continues to spend countless hours every day at the gym. Through training, boxers especially Mayweather have developed innate reactions to certain circumstances. Everyday Floyd throws thousands of punches in the gym without hesitation and is taught to throw punches in a real fight whenever there ...

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