According to online analytics company Yield Sec, at least 20 million fans worldwide watched the fight illegally, costing Sky Sports, TNT Sport and DAZN over a hundred million dollars in lost revenue.
And 45 percent of the illegal streaming was in Europe, 25 percent in North America and 16 percent in Asia.
“Sports piracy is theft,” a DAZN spokesperson told Mail Sport. “We are investing heavily in combating it, using technology to monitor user activity and inform fans of the risks. It may seem like a victimless crime, but most illegal channels are provided by criminal networks or carry the risk of phishing and identity theft. Our advice: don’t put the sport you care about or your own data at risk by using illegal channels”
The heavyweight unification bout, which featured the WBA, IBF, WBO, WBC and The Ring championship belts, went the full distance and ended with the Ukrainian boxer winning by split decision with scores of 115-112, 114-113 and 113-114.
The Briton, who disagreed with the verdict of the judges, has already stated that he will exercise the right to an immediate rematch, which is tentatively scheduled for October of this year.