Oleksandr Usyk v Tyson Fury 'theft' statement released after shocking revelation

Twenty million people illegally streamed the 'Ring of Fire' bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.

Ukrainian Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis in 1999 when he secured a split decision win over The Gypsy King.

Usyk hammered Fury in the ninth round, and it appeared that it was the ropes themselves that prevented the fight from being stopped by the referee, as Fury fell back into them on multiple occasions.

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In an exclusive report from The Daily Mail, it has been revealed that 20 million illegally streamed the historic fight.

Pay-per-view varied between DAZN, Sky Sports Box Office and TNT Sports Box Office, but they largely priced it out around the £25 mark. This means that rights holders were left £95million out of pocket.

Analysis was conducted by online intelligence company Yield Sec for Mail Sport, and shows there were 2,000 different streaming locations, with 18% coming from the UK.

Forty five per cent illegal streaming took place in Europe, 25% in America and 16% in Asia.

The report found that the illegal streams were funded by advertising for gambling and crypto schemes, with some sites charging as little as £1. The report also works on the assumption that only one person was watching said stream, which means the total figure of people illegally watching the fight is likely to be much higher.

It is the highest ever viewing figures for a sporting event streamed illegally.

A DAZN spokesperson said: "Sports piracy is theft. DAZN invests a significant amount in combatting it, using technology to monitor the activity of users, and educating fans about the risks.

"It may seem a victimless crime, but most illegal feeds are provided by criminal networks or carry the risk of phishing and identity theft. Our advice is don't risk the sport you care about, or your own data, by using illegal feeds.'"