Heavyweight contender Joe Joyce would embrace the opportunity to box against UFC champion Francis Ngannou.

Leading up to his 2020 fight with Daniel Dubois, Joyce sparred a few rounds with Ngannou at the UFC‘s Performance Institute in Las Vegas.

Over the last two years, Ngannou has been very vocal about his heavy interest in taking part in a boxing match with a top heavyweight opponent.

Earlier in the year, there was talk of a cross-sport boxing match between Ngannou and WBC world champion Tyson Fury. While the two fighters held some loose discussions, the big sticking point was Ngannou's contract with the UFC.

Ngannou is currently healing up after undergoing surgery to correct a lingering knee injury.

He is also involved in tense contact negotiations with the UFC. Ngannou's UFC contract expires at the end of the year - and he refuses to compete under the terms of his current agreement.

If Ngannou becomes a free agent in the coming year, he will certainly pursue the scenario of a boxing match.

Based on the experience of their sparring session, Joyce is very impressed with Ngannou's punching power. The Olympic silver medal winner has zero interest in crossing over to MMA, but he would welcome a potential boxing match with Ngannou.

“I sparred Ngannou before the Dubois fight, he’s a big, powerful unit. It was a good experience to spar him. He’s a freak of nature. He’s got phenomenal power. Most of the time I was trying to get away from those power shots to avoid getting my head taken off," Joyce told Give Me Sport.

“I’d love to fight him though but let’s keep it simple with boxing. The UFC is too much, man. Credit to all those guys because they have to train so hard in all these different areas like they have to be so well-rounded in the kicking, the striking, the grappling and the submissions and all that so it’s a lot you have to train for.”

Joyce is currently the WBO's interim-world champion. He hopes to secure a mandatory world title shot in 2023.