A boxing fan has become the most popular man in Australia after he filmed the Danny Green vs Anthony Mundine fight from his TV on his phone and made it a Facebook Live video.
At one point, more than 150,000 people were watching Darren Sharpe's live stream, avoiding spending moneyto see the final professional fight between the rivals on Foxtel's pay-per-view.
The pay TV company had its work cut out trying to locate his and other live Facebook streams, as well as pirate versions shared on YouTube and Periscope to allow fans to watch for free.
Mr Sharpe, who was dubbed a "legend" even appeared to live-stream a call from his provider telling him to stop. "You just need to turn it off, I put a message up on your account before about it's only for Foxtel subscribers," a voice is heard saying.
The Brisbane mechanic tells the caller "there's people all over the world watching this."
While Facebook did not appear to try to stop the live videos, Foxtel and Main Event tracked down account holders streaming the fight and revoked their TV subscriptions. Error messages appeared on several live feeds reading: "This smartcard is for private residential viewing only" and TV screens went white.
One viewer commented on Mr Sharpe's stream, "I owe ya a beer", while another said, "I don't know who's the bigger dog, Mundine or Foxtel hahah."
The Australian has become a meme, with one image showing him and Malcolm Turnbull reading: "Darren Sharpe did more for his nation in 24 hours than this flog has in his whole term."
Another showed Mr Sharpe's face beneath a Pornhub logo with the words: "Average Aussie f***s Foxtel."
It's unlikely the pay TV company will find it as amusing.
Mr Sharpe appears to be aware of that fact too, and has now set up a GoFundMe page to cover his potential legal costs. "Thanks to everyone for the support it's been a fun ride," he wrote. "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."
It cost $59.95 to watch the match legitimately through Main Event.
