The highly anticipated rematch between Ukrainian champion Oleksandr Usyk and British boxer Tyson Fury took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on December 21. After Usyk's impressive victory in May, this fight became one of the most eagerly awaited sports events of the latter half of 2024. Millions of boxing fans from around the globe tuned in to watch the Usyk vs. Fury showdown. While many watched on TV, a significant number followed the action via live streams on platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
The fight was for the world championship titles from the WBC, WBA Super, WBO, IBO, and The Ring. It went the full 12 rounds, with Usyk coming out on top. All three judges scored the fight unanimously in his favor, 116–112. Usyk successfully defended his title and will now prepare for a potential showdown with a new challenger, likely IBF world champion Daniel Dubois. Interestingly, Usyk and Dubois already faced off in the summer of 2023, with Usyk securing a knockout victory in the 9th round.
The Usyk vs. Fury rematch viewership statistics
The official broadcast of the second Usyk vs. Fury fight was only available on paid platforms like DAZN, so it wasn't possible to watch the fight online for free legally. Still, over 1,000 channels covered the fight on YouTube and Twitch, offering radio-style broadcasts, reaction streams, watch parties, or expert commentary.
The peak of 434,097 concurrent viewers was reached in the final round, which is a relatively modest number for livestreamed boxing events. In comparison, the November fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was covered by over 11,300 unique channels, with a peak of 2,229,823 viewers. This fight was also unavailable for free and was exclusively streamed on Netflix.
The significant difference in viewership numbers can be attributed to the contrasting nature of the events. The Paul vs. Tyson fight was heavily marketed as a spectacle, with an extensive promotional campaign spanning nearly a year, attracting a broader audience, including casual viewers who might not typically follow boxing. In contrast, the Usyk vs. Fury fight was a high-level professional bout, where the emphasis was placed on the athletic competition itself rather than the media hype surrounding the fighters.
The Usyk vs. Fury rematch was most widely followed by channels from the UK and Ukraine, which made up 35.5% and 32.1% of the total watch hours, respectively. This was despite the fight starting late and ending in the early hours of the morning.
The top channel in terms of audience reach was talkSPORT Boxing, which peaked at 88,527 viewers. This channel didn't air the fight itself but streamed the commentary feed from commentators at the venue. Similar reaction streams were launched by other major sports media outlets that didn't have the rights to broadcast the fight. Interestingly, the most popular Ukrainian channels were ones that usually focus on football: Football Hub and ‘’Перший футбольний’’.
Usyk vs. Fury rematch was buzzing in Twitch chats. In the week leading up to the fight, the British boxer was mentioned far more than the Ukrainian, but their mention counts evened out during the fight. Only at the end of the fight, once the winner was clear, Usyk's mentions in Twitch chats outnumber those of the British boxer.
The rematch generated far less excitement in the livestream community compared to the first fight. The peak number of mentions during the rematch was 3,741 (for Usyk), while in the May fight, this number was about three times higher.
Recently, livestreaming has become a major platform for boxing events featuring popular content creators. These events attract millions of viewers, driven by the large fanbases of the participants, free online streams, and a focus on the entertainment value. Currently, the biggest boxing show is La Velada del Año IV, organized by Spanish streamer Ibai. The broadcast of its most anticipated fight peaked at 4,341,709 viewers.
