Powell finished a disappointing fifth in the 100m Athens Olympics final

Powell is the fastest man over the distance this year - running 9.84 seconds in Kingston last month.

Only Montgomery, who clocked 9.78 at the 2002 Paris Grand Prix, and fellow American former world record holder Maurice Greene have ever run faster.

Powell, whose next race is scheduled for Athens on Tuesday, said: "I'm strong enough and I am confident."

Powell, who equalled Canadians Donovan Bailey and Bruny Surin as the third fastest men ever in May, also insisted that if conditions had been better in Kingston, then he would already possess the mark.

"I'm surprised that the time was so fast because the weather was so bad and I eased up in the last 15m and for sure that cost me the world record," he said.

The 22-year-old will face Britain's Olympic 4x100m relay gold medallists Jason Gardener and Mark Lewis-Francis in Athens before returning to Jamaica to prepare for the national championships.

Gardener is backing Powell to break Montgomery's mark, which has since been tainted by allegations of drug use.

"Yes - I think a guy who has already run a legal 9.84secs, 9.84secs windy and another 9.85secs, can smash the world record," said the Briton.

"That's a fantastic set of results and you have to remember this is a sprinters' track."

Powell will also run at the Rome Golden Gala on 8 July, but is still negotiating whether to compete in first of the season's Golden League meetings in Paris a week earlier.