THE SOCRATES IN KURIHARA’S HEART
(Erico Joseph T. Cañete)
The 8-round non-title boxing bout between our very own Filipino Renan Portes and Keith Kurihara, the OPBF/IBF Pan Pacific Bantamweight Champion at the Korakuren Hall in Tokyo on July 23, 2024, ended in a split controversial decision. Kurihara won with two judges scored 78-74, while the third judge scored 78-74 for Portes.
After the fight, Kurihara grabbed the microphone and made public his conviction that he lost the bout. More than that, he went to the dressing room of Portes and conscientiously made a gesture of conceding his defeat.
Leaving that contemporary scene momentarily, somewhere in time, the philosopher Socrates started his quest for truth via cosmology under Anaxagoras; a thinker who claimed that the earth’s urstoff is air. Thinking that Natural Philosophy seemed to lead him nowhere, made a paradigm shift embracing Moral Philosophy starting with “Know Thyself.” His conversion, putting his passion to Moral Philosophy, was also due to the incident of the Delphic Oracle. His devoted friend Chaerephon asked if there was any man living who was wiser than Socrates. The answer was “No.” Chaerephon came to think then that Socrates was the wisest man for the latter knew himself well by recognizing his own ignorance; an intellectual humility.
From that moment onwards, Socrates made an ethical revolution. Unfortunately, the authorities, seeing him to be a threat, incarcerated Socrates with charges of impiety and corrupting the youth. In prison, he was poisoned.
With no intention to outwit Confucius who was recognized as the Socrates of the east, I picture Kurihara as a man with the heart of Socrates.
Just like Socrates, Kurihara knew his very own self. He knew his limitations and flaws. It was a humbling gesture on his part conceding his defeat despite the glamour of victory. And with this proclamation that he became a victorious warrior who flourished a captured enemy; pride. He humbled himself thus he was exalted. He won the hearts of many by choosing the values of integrity and dignity over victory and success. He is not just a real sportsman but a real man with sterling ethical values.
Gratitude for showing us the virtue of piety by inspiring us especially the young. May you continue to live as a free man whose virtues we emulate.
Equally worthy of our commendation is our very own Filipino warrior, Renan Portes.