CEO Ray Conner told journalists at the Farnborough Air Show in Britain that the plane would have around 200 seats in an economy-class configuration.
Ther company has not received any orders for the twin-engine, single-aisle plane yet, but "we're looking forward to competing whenever it comes up," Conner said.
The Boeing 737 MAX planes are a family of mid-range airliners with new more efficient engines that will compete with the new Airbus A320 Neo.
The original twin-jet 737 first entered service in 1968.
Boeing meanwhile said it had nothing to fear from a new version of the wide-body Airbus A330 that the European manufacturer may announce at Farnborough this week.