Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker: Why you should think twice before watching the fight on a live stream

Maybe it would be better to just get the PPV after all... In the meantime, you can follow live coverage of the fight here

Anthony Joshua takes on Joseph Parker this weekend – and you can be sure that a number of people will decide to illegally stream the fight rather than splashing out £20 on the pay-per-view.

But before you too decide to try your luck with dodgy streams and several annoying pop-ups – just remember the case of Craig Foster, from Scarborough.

Foster was last year made to pay £5,000 to Sky after his account was used to stream a boxing match online.

FOLLOW LIVE COVERAGE OF JOSHUA VS PARKER

Joshua’s April 2017 fight against Wladimir Klitschko cost UK customers £19.95 on Sky Sports Box Office, but it was made available to watch for free through a Facebook Live stream.

The stream was traced back to the Sky account of Foster, who says his subscription was cut shortly after.

The Facebook stream was viewed by around 4,250 people.

He also received several letters from Foot Anstey LLP, a law firm representing Sky, one of which said he faced being hit with an £85,000 penalty if the case went to court.

Joshua and Parker fight on March 31 (Getty / Independent)

Foster, who agreed to pay Sky £5,000 in legal costs, claimed that one of his friends live streamed the fight through an iPad, on which Foster had already logged into his Facebook account.

He says Foot Anstey also asked for the names and addresses of all of the people who watched the fight with Foster, but he chose not to supply the details.

“Mr Foster broke the law and illegally shared copyright protected content with thousands of people online,” Neil Parkes, Partner at Foot Anstey LLP, told The Independent, speaking on behalf of Sky.

“He has since acknowledged his wrongdoing, apologised for his actions and signed a legally binding agreement in which he agrees to pay a sum of £5,000 to Sky.”

The fight will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office (Getty)

In 2016, another Sky customer was ordered to pay £16,000 in legal costs after illegally streaming Sky Sports.

In a similar case in the US, a Facebook user made Deadpool available to watch for free, while it was still being shown in cinemas.

The pirate copy was viewed by more than five million people, and the man who uploaded it to the social network reportedly faces up to three years in prison if he’s convicted of copyright infringement.