Paul Gallen scored a narrow win over Sonny Bill Williams in the most hotly anticipated footy fight night Australia has seen – but instead of celebrating, he lashed out at the judges while his opponent stormed out of the ring.

The Cronulla Sharks icon took the verdict with two judges awarding him the eight-round bout on scores of 77-74 and 76-75, with the third giving Williams the edge, 77-74.

There was high drama in the seventh round as referee Les Fear deducted a crucial point from Williams for continuously holding Gallen, who was also warned by the ref for repeatedly punching his opponent in the back of the head.

Had he not had that point taken away, the former Roosters and All Blacks star would have got a draw.

Williams was also threatened with disqualification by Fear in sensational scenes in the final round as he kept bear-hugging Gallen, drawing a chorus of boos from the crowd.

After he had his hand raised in victory, Gallen voiced his disbelief at the scoring, insisting he had only lost one round – the second, when Williams had him in deep trouble with a series of hard punches to the head.

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Paul Gallen is pictured telling the crowd he’d won just after the final bell in his long-awaited bout with Sonny Bill Williams

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Getting under Williams’ long reach and landing shots to the body was key to Gallen’s victory

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Another crucial factor in the win was Williams being deducted a point for holding, which Gallen complained about constantly during the fight (pictured)

‘I definitely lost one round, I think the second round, and there was one other pretty close one and he got a point taken off, so how the hell is he winning [on one judge’s card]?’ a visibly angry Gallen said, despite earning a rumoured $1million and defeating his bitter rival in the last fight of his pro boxing career.

‘I got the win. That’s all that matters and it will be there forever,’ he continued.

‘I’m 44 years old in less than a month’s time.

‘Sonny just came upon to me and said he wants to have a coffee man-to-man and I’m on for that.

‘I’ve finished my fights, I’m getting with my life.

‘I’m not going to gloat, it’s been a long time coming. I got the job done and that’s all that matters,’ added Gallen, while also revealing he had come down with COVID two weeks before the fight.

Williams sought Gallen out to shake his hand before the scorecards were read out, but got a frosty reception as his rival argued and pointed his finger at him.

The former Roosters star was heard repeating ‘it’s not personal’ as Gallen spoke over the top of him, but the pair shook hands again before parting.

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Williams sought Gallen out after the final bell so the pair could shake hands – but they ended up arguing instead (pictured)

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The dual-code footy star had Gallen in deep trouble in the second round as he landed a series of punishing shots, like this uppercut

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Despite making a rumoured $1million and going out of professional boxing with a win over his bitter rival, the ex-NSW State of Origin star lashed out angrily straight after his victory

Williams was nowhere to be seen after Gallen had his hand raised in victory, having made a beeline for his dressing room and then refusing to do any post-fight interviews.

Both men fought as expected, Gallen rushing in to get inside the long reach of the much taller Williams, who tried to keep him at a distance with his jab and land powerful right hands and uppercuts.

After a reasonably even first round, Williams unleashed in the second, landing several hard uppercuts and a wrecking-ball right hand that staggered Gallen and had him looking bewildered.

However, Gallen roared back in the third to land damaging body shots – his weapon of choice throughout the fight – and close the distance well to get right back into it.

The referee struggled to separate the fighters at times and was yelled at by Gallen in most of the rounds as he protested against what he saw as unfair holding.

There was more drama after the final bell as Williams’ former manager, Khoder Nasser, was seen having angry words with Gallen in the ring.

When the fight was awarded to Gallen, Nasser was seen flipping his middle finger up.

The result leaves Gallen with a pro boxing record of 15-3-1 with eight wins by knockout, while Williams sits at 9-2, with four wins by KO.

On the undercard, world-ranked Victorian Kris Terzievski moved closer to a bridgerweight world title shot by retaining his two regional titles with a sixth-round stoppage of Gold Coast-based New Zealander Troy Pilcher.

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Williams – who wore a ‘Free Palestine’ message on his trunks – was so gutted by the decision that he stormed out of the ring and refused to do any interviews

Terzievski (14-1-2, 11 KOs) put Pilcher (10-2-1, 8 KOs) down with a body shot In the fifth and referee Fear stopped the fight after two more knockdowns in the sixth.

Earlier, two sons of famous fathers each had a quick win on the undercard.

With his father and former world champion Anthony Mundine in his corner, 25-year-old super middleweight Rahim Mundine (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Fijian opponent Joe Vatusaqata (1-5-1, 1 KO) in the second round.

Heavyweight Alex Leapai Jr, improved to 5-0-1 (4 KOs), with a first round knock out of Herve Silu Mata 3-4 (2 KOs)

Leapai’s father, also named Alex, unsuccessfully challenged former IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.

Another winner on the undercard was New Zealander David Nyika, who bounced back from his loss to IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia with a fifth-round stoppage of fellow Kiwi Nik Charalampous.