Meaning in, "The Other Duel" by Jorge Luis Borges

Some of the first thoughts I had after reading "The Other Duel" by Jorge Luis Borges were, what's the significance of the title? And, why is there a defined winner at the end?

With the first question in mind, I began to scan back over the story. What did Borges mean by the other duel? It was at this time I began to notice a lot of comparing and contrasting between the two protagonists as well as the men or soldiers in general (page 142). This paralleling of characters was done in a way that would represent their character, what kind of men they were, what kind of thoughts they had, and how you might judge them further or define them as human beings, whether good or bad. To me, this suggested that the title was a play on words. The other duel is dual, which the online dictionary defines as, "of, pertaining to, or noting two. Composed or consisting of two people, items, parts, etc. Having a twofold, or double, character or nature."
I think the whole story, has to do with the dual nature of men. Both protagonists may not be ideal heroes or role models, but if you look back through the story, the better choice, or “better man” seems to be Cardoso. On page 142, Captain Nolan makes an interesting statement, “You’re going to run a race…may the best man win.” The first time, I read these words as cliché, and meaningless. However, after a second, third and fourth time I began to wonder if there was more in this simple phrase. This lead me back to my second question, why is there a defined winner in the end? One could read this as meaning that Cardoso is the better man.

In order to further this claim I went back and re-read the beginning of the story, noticing that Cardoso loses to Silveira in everything else prior to the “death race”. The feud is said to have possibly started over, “a bareback horse race during which, Silveira, who was stronger, had bumped Cardoso’s horse off the track,” which sounds like cheating. Then, look at the way the truco game went down. Cardoso tries every trick, only to be scoffed at and beat by Silveira, who, after winning, thanks Cardoso for the “lesson”. When Silveira sees Cardoso courting a girl, he, out of spite, begins courting the girl himself, and takes her to his home, releasing her after a month so she can go crying to Cardoso, who, at this point, sees the girl as tainted by his enemy.

That is Silveira’s style, that is his nature. Someone like Silveira might claim he deserved all of these victories. But anyone with sound morals can see he is a cheater and a bad sport. He does not know how to win with honor, and so in the end, in death, Cardoso is the winner, the “better man”.