Foxtel has signalled it will take legal action against an Australian man who broadcast the Danny Green v Anthony Mundine fight on his Facebook page on Friday night.
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Darren Sharpe's broadcast allowed tens of thousands of viewers to watch the fight, who would otherwise have had to purchase the fight through Foxtel's pay-per-view service.
But the subscription service has vowed to fight back, saying in a statement "appropriate legal action will be taken."
"What occurred last night on Facebook is stealing and it's harmful to the future of boxing and live sport," the statement said.
Mr Sharpe appeared to be revelling in his online notoriety on Saturday, appreciating the support of thousands of viewers who had tuned in to his Facebook Live re-broadcast.
And in a video posted to YouTube, Mr Sharpe's conversation with a Foxtel representative on Friday night telling him to stop the broadcast is apparently recorded.
"I want you to stop streaming it on Facebook," the representative says.
"Mate I've got 78,000 viewers here that aren't going to be happy with you mate," Mr Sharpe responds.
"It's an offence against the Copyright Act of Australia mate," says the representative.
"I don't think I can stop streaming mate," Mr Sharpe says. "There's people all over the world watching this."
On his Facebook page, Mr Sharpe has linked to a website to raise funds in case he is sued by Foxtel.
"Please donate in case I end up getting sued haha if not and I Foxtel doesn't rekt me I'll donate to cancer council cheers everyone your the best," the website says.
The fight had a one-off pay-per-view cost of $59.95.
Mr Sharpe, whose online biography says he is a Brisbane mechanic, posted on Facebook on Saturday that he hoped everyone had enjoyed the previous night. "I'm at work today but will update when I know more," he posted.
A Foxtel spokesman said in a statement on Saturday that the subscriptions to the Green v Mundine match were restricted to individual residential use, and not authorised for rebroadcast.
smh.com.au