Tommy Fury beat Jake Paul by split decision in arguably the most anticipated eight-round contest in boxing history.
Fury, 23, was the busier fighter, landing more accurate punches and demonstrating his boxing fundamentals.
The former Love Island star, brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, was knocked down by YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul in the eighth round.
One judge scored it 75-74 to Paul, with the other two scoring it 76-73 to Fury.
“For the past two years this is all that has consumed my life,” an emotional Fury, who has now won all seven of his professional bouts, said on BT Sport.
“Everybody thought I was running scared but tonight I make my own legacy.”
After dedicating the fight to his new-born baby daughter Bambi, Fury added: “This is my first main event, I am going to get bigger and better and if he wants a rematch, bring it on.”
Paul – who lost for the first time in his seventh professional fight – said: “All respect to Tommy, he won. Don’t judge me by my wins, judge me by my losses.
“I don’t know if I agree with the judges, it is what it is but that is the boxing world.”
Build-up and atmosphere in Saudi Arabia
Several stars from the world of sport and entertainment were in attendance and many more were following from home.
Boxing hall-of-famer Mike Tyson and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo were among those present in the open-top Diriyah Arena.
Popstar Drake shared a screenshot of his $400,000 (£335,000) bet on a Paul KO win, while Home Alone actor Macaulay Culkin tweeted: “There’s no better way to celebrate your half birthday than to watch Jake Paul get punched in the head repeatedly.”
The main event was given the full big-fight treatment, with legendary Master of Ceremonies Michael Buffer introducing both fighters.
Fury, dressed in white with the name of his new-born daughter etched across his robe, walked first to the ring along with trainer and dad John Fury and brother Tyson.
But with Fury waiting patiently, ‘The Problem Child’ Paul was still pacing up and down in his dressing room as the mind games continued. When Paul did make his entrance, a chorus of boos echoed around the venue.
Unusually, the fight took place on a Sunday night and while both Paul and Fury boast a huge following among younger fans, the first bell did not ring until 22:30 GMT (01:30 local time) – almost an hour later than scheduled.
How did the fight play out?
After all the hype and expectation, it was a scrappy opening minute of the fight. Fury landed a couple of solid jabs and ended the round with the first meaningful punch, a left hook.
Fury settled well into the second, rocking Paul’s head back with a sharp jab – and even showboated by twirling his back hand then landing flush.
With Paul eyeing up the single power shots, he glanced Fury’s forehead with an overhand right but missed wildly on other occasions.
Paul started to use his jab and found success in the third. Then, somewhat bizarrely, Paul’s brother Logan was interviewed ringside and with everyone in the arena able to hear, he insulted Fury and his family.
The fight had already divided opinion in the boxing world and the between-round episode will have further cemented the thoughts of traditionalists who feel it is making a mockery of the sport.
Logan’s comments seemed to spur Fury on as he connected with a short right hand and followed it with a flurry of punches from range in the fourth, although Paul ended the round well, landing cleaner blows.
Paul had the best of the fifth round but was deducted a point for a punch to the back of the head. Fury landed terrific uppercuts in the sixth, but then he was also deducted a point for holding. Neither fighter was warned by the referee beforehand.
The fighters were visibly tired in the seventh, the first time in Fury’s career he had gone that deep into a fight. But it was the Briton who edged the round through his work-rate.
In a frantic final round, with both boxers looking to land the telling blow, Fury hit the deck from a Paul jab. He looked more startled than hurt and insisted to the referee it was a slip.
