Last week, UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou expressed his desire to achieve a lifelong dream of competing for world title in boxing.

When he was 22-years-old, Ngannou had originally trained to become a boxer - but he eventually switched up his career path and transitioned to mixed martial arts.

Twelve years have passed, with Ngannou now regarded as one of the top fighters in MMA.

At some point, he wants to explore the possibility of fighting a top level boxer - especially if a world title is at stake.

A few years ago, promoter Eddie Hearn had tried to play up the war of words between Ngannou and heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte - who at the time were feuding in the press and on social media.

Hearn's company filmed an actual press conference to fuel the rivalry.

But, the UFC became aware of the taping - and the organization quickly intervened and put a stop on the cross-sport promotion.

However, there is still interest from Hearn in placing Whyte in the ring, and the cage, with Ngannou.

“I love Francis Ngannou. We almost had a presser with Dillian Whyte and him, but the UFC shut that down after we taped it. We do have the footage, though. I would love to see a double matchup with Ngannou and Dillian Whyte. One in the cage and one out of it. Ditto for [Katie] Taylor and [Amanda] Nunes,” Hearn told AK and Barak on SiriusXM.

Whyte was in action last month, when he stopped Alexander Povetkin in four rounds to avenge a knockout loss that was suffered in August of 2020.

As far as Ngannou facing Joshua - Hearn indicates that anything is possible.

“AJ wants to be the best, but he also wants to do different things once he meets his goals. So a fight with Francis Ngannou isn’t impossible. Just like Katie Taylor vs Cyborg or Nunes, potentially," Hearn said.