Martin Murray (right) lands a punch on Sergio Martinez in Buenos Aires (photo: Juan Mabromata-AFP/Getty)

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum has confirmed reports that former WBC middleweight titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. could face England’s once-beaten Martin Murray on Aug. 3 in Mexico City.

“We’re talking to the Murray people,” said Arum on Wednesday.

Murray (25-1-1, 11 knockouts) is coming off last month’s unanimous decision loss to RING and WBC 160-pound champion Sergio Martinez, whom Murray dropped in the eighth round of an HBO-televised bout in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Similarly, Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KOs) is coming off September’s unanimous decision loss to Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KOs), whom Chavez Jr. floored in the 12th round of an HBO Pay Per View-televised bout in Las Vegas.

In March, Chavez was fined $900,000 and suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after his post-Martinez-fight drug test revealed marijuana metabolites.

The fine represented 30 percent of Chavez’s $3 million purse, and ranked as the second-biggest ever in NSAC history behind Mike Tyson’s $3 million for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear.

In addition, the NSAC’s move outraged Arum, who vowed that Chavez’s next fight would not take place in Las Vegas.

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]