By Edward Chaykovsky

Retired former super middleweight champion Carl Froch has tabbed IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (30-0-1, 26KOs) as being the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Many pundits credit WBC flyweight champion Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez with being the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. Gonzalez will be going for his fourth divisional title next month when he faces WBC super flyweight champion Carlos Cuadras on September 10th in Los Angeles.

Froch is siding with the bigger man, who will defend his titles against Olympic gold medal winner Andre Ward on November 19th.

Froch says Kovalev has shown over and over why he's the top fighter in the sport.

"The big-punching Russian is my kind of fighter. He has proven his credentials repeatedly and provided great entertainment in doing so. Impressive performances over fellow 175lb champions Nathan Cleverly, Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins deserve merit especially when it's been without any regard for where the bout has been held. He is far from the slickest, nor is he a multi-weight winner - but he is a highly-entertaining throwback who takes on all-comers," Froch told Sky Sports.

There are rumors of turbulence in finalizing the deal for Kovalev vs. Ward. Tickets were supposed to go on sale two weeks ago, for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The two sides are reportedly at odds over the venue and location, among other things.

If the fight falls out, Froch expects some serious blowback on Ward (30-0, 15KOs).

"He's an unbeaten and decorated fighter. But his slippery, point-winning style leaves many people cold. Recent years have seen him reluctant to take any risks at all and there is talk he may not fight Kovalev, which would be a shame as he really does need to fight a big name soon or he's going to become irrelevant," Froch said.

Froch Full Top Ten Pound-For-Pound List 

1. Sergey Kovalev
2 - Roman Gonzalez
3 - Andre Ward
4 - Tyson Fury
5 - Guillermo Rigondeaux
6 - Terence Crawford
7 - Saul Alvarez
8 - Gennady Golovkin
9 - Carl Frampton
10 - Kell Brook