Free live stream of Fury vs Usyk 2 fight putting millions of people at risk through fraud

Researchers believe millions of people are seeking free live streams of the heavyweight boxing match between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury on Saturday, putting them at risk of fraud and other cybersecurity

The first fight between Fury and Usyk sold over 1.5 million pay-per-views, but because of the £25 ($40) PPV fee, many more viewers used illegal live streams to watch the fight for free.

An estimated 20 million people found ways to watch the heavyweight title fight between Fury and Usyk online via illegal free streams. Hundreds of unauthorized streaming sites offered pirated versions of the live broadcast of the fight – some of which were indexed by search engines such as DuckDuckGo.

Links to free streams are also spreading on popular social media sites like Facebook and X, while users of certain Reddit forums also shared the best ways to reach illegal streaming sites.

The rematch between Fury and Usyk is likely to attract a similar level of piracy, with DAZN, TNT Sports Box Office and Sky Sports Box Office charging the same £25 PPV fee.

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Experts warn about the risks for people seeking free streams of the Usyk-Fury fight, both legally and from a cybersecurity perspective.

“The decision to bypass official channels to watch the highly anticipated fight between Fury and Usyk this Saturday is not only risky – it is also illegal and can expose you to serious danger,” said Kieron Sharp, chief executive of FACT The Independent.

“Illegal streaming puts consumers at risk of malware, financial theft and compromise of personal information such as emails, photos and browsing history. At high-volume events, scammers target unsuspecting spectators.”

Anti-piracy campaign BeStreamWise issued a warning ahead of the Fury vs Usyk 2 fight, claiming that one in three viewers in the UK who stream illegally have fallen victim to scams, scams and identity theft.

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A separate report from pub loyalty app MiXR claimed that 63 percent of boxing fans missed a knockout punch due to buffering and lag issues common with illegal streams.

Research conducted by the app found that the majority of people who searched for illegal streams of popular fights did so due to the high cost of PPV.

“Illegal streaming can not only ruin the live boxing experience, but is also directly impacting pubs across the country,” a spokesperson for MiXR said The Independent.

“If this trend were to repeat itself in Saturday’s rematch and people chose to stream illegally rather than watch in pubs and bars, MiXR estimates the UK pub industry could lose £16 million in revenue.”