WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez has predicted that he will defeat Martin Murray within eight rounds when the two fighters meet next year.

The Argentine will make his first title defence since beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in September when he steps into the ring with Murray on April 27.

"[Murray] is a great sportsman, to be respected. He's young and strong. It's great that he should want to give his all and I was the same but the fight won't go past the eighth round," Martinez said.

Murray - who currently tops the WBA middleweight rankings - insists that he holds Martinez in high regard, but vowed to defeat him.

"He began at the bottom and today he's the most powerful in the division. But I'm better and can beat him," Reuters quotes him as saying. "It will be a great opportunity for me to show the world who I am."

The bout between the pair will take place in Buenos Aires, with the Velez Sarsfield football stadium tipped as a potential venue.