Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Canelo Alvarez will be the favourite in a possible rematch with Gennady Golovkin.

Golovkin defended his IBF, WBA, WBC, IBO middleweight titles via a split-decision draw against Canelo on 16 September with the main talking point being the controversial 118-110 scorecard given by Adelaide Byrd.

Talk of a rematch was immediate as one of the most highly-anticipated matches in boxing history needed a clear-cut winner.

And Hearn says Canelo, who many felt was lucky to have not been awarded the loss in Las Vegas, could have the advantage over the Kazakh in a potential sequel.

"If I was Canelo, I'd be more confident going into the second fight, because you'd expect that to happen," Hearn told Fight Hub TV. "The rematch will take place in May, from the looks of things. That's another 8 to 9 months."

"For a fight that big, you can't do it in December. Maybe you could do it in February or March, but May is Cinco de Mayo, isn't it? So I'm sure both guys will settle for a few months off and then get back into camp.

"I always thought Golovkin would win. Now I'm starting to favour Canelo a bit. But after seeing the first fight, I probably give Canelo more chance in the rematch then. I think he'll have more success in the rematch than he did in the first fight, because I think he'll be more experienced."

As for when a rematch could happen, discussions were said to have taken place on Friday (22 September) with Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez recently revealing that May could be the ideal month for a rematch, though he added that March is a possibility as well.

"We've already began talking a little with Gennady's people, with Tom Loeffler, who is the promoter of Golovkin," Gomez said, as quoted on BoxingScene. "We started talking and I think it could happen in May."

"May is a good date for pay-per-view in the United States, but we are not ruling out March. It's about looking at the details that we all agree on."