Wheather you like Froch or not, he deserves to be rated high, and arguably #1. In his last 4 fights hes beaten 3 undefeated fighters, admittedly one of them wasnt to known but hes beaten in his last 3 fights undefeated now WBC LHW champ Pascal, made his 1st title defence away to Taylor who had only lost once on points at SMW to Pavlik (KOd by Pavlik at MW previously), and defeated undefeated Dirrell. Although Froch didnt look impressive against Dirrell, Dirrell didnt look good either and was much more negative than id seen him before, also Boxing News and The Ring magazine both had Froch a close winner. Froch is also making his next defence away again to Kessler. Like him or not thats good form
Well, he got a gift decision in his last fight. His resume isnt great, that said Kessler may be past his best after Ward whooped him so Froch has a chance in his next fight.
People are really snobby about Froch. His record and accomplishments make him a clear number 1 at SMW. But because of his style, he gets ranked much lower.