COUNTERPOINT: How good is Scott Christ, really?

Editors showing skepticism or outright contempt to superheroes is common enough to border on cliché. You can see it between J. Jonah Jameson and Spiderman, Perry White and Superman, and, once again, Scott Christ and George Kambosos Jr.

But, where does it come from? Is it a side effect of the job? Or, is it a troubling sign of the limits of the talent and ability of Scott Christ?

Some will believe it’s unfair at this point to ask, “How good is Scott Christ, really?” The man has spent 15 years building a boxing website. He’s given it an identity that finds a welcoming balance between the wonky obsessive needs of boxing degenerates and the “man punch other man” simplicity necessary for more casual sports fans. He’s developed a true community, shepherding it through radical changes in both his own site’s publishing platform and, more broadly, the online sports writing landscape.

No one can deny that Christ has worked diligently over the years to constantly evolve live fight coverage, developing a system that simultaneously satisfies three different groups of readers with lightning speed. But, anyone that’s followed his career closely also knows there are serious questions whether Christ has the mental toughness to handle a top level challenge.

Christ is also very proud of his fighter rankings. He claims to have a flawless methodology for truly parsing fighters across all levels, spending hours each week organizing them into a clear, definitive, and conclusive hierarchy.

How, then, does he explain his pound-for-pound rankings? Objectively speaking, the only question George Kambosos hasn’t resolved yet is whether he’s a mere all time great, or if he’ll rise all the way to greatest of all time. But, Scott Christ has Kambosos listed 9th in his men’s pound-for-pound rankings, behind eight fighters who aren’t even a little bit Greek. Is it a singular blind spot, or a sign of a much bigger hole in Christ’s repertoire?

Christ also has a moderately successful podcast. But there, his limitations continue to reveal themselves. Even the show’s name comes from a long-running joke among Christ’s readers and co-workers, mocking the man for his inability to distinguish between the letters “B” and “G” on a keyboard.

The most recent episode includes a meandering, self-indulgent and self-aggrandizing story where Christ styles himself as a young Davy Crockett type, conquering the wilderness and overcoming the adversity of nature. A strong co-host, like a strong corner man, might be able to push Christ past his flaws and worst impulses. But, like many a headstrong fighter, Christ seems to prefer a hype man rather than someone that might challenge and push him to true greatness.

Christ shares the microphone with a guy who sounds like he’s auditioning for a Micro Machines commercial, and who offers boxing insight that could only be described as “pedestrian” if you wanted to insult every idiot trying to walk down a street. It’s easy to shine bright when you’re next to a very dim bulb. Christ’s podcast matchmaking proves it.

What does the future hold for Scott Christ? Can he fix his flaws and potentially rise to true greatness? Or, is he content to wallow forever in the same category that Bill Murray famously assigned to Chevy Chase: a “medium talent?”

Only time will tell.