Ben Hannant might have lost to Josh Papalii on the judges' scorecards on the All Stars Footy Rivals fight card but the former NRL star won plenty of admirers for his efforts.

Papalii defeated Hannant via unanimous decision with the crowd leaning heavily in the former Cowboys star's favour throughout the fight. Hannant took the fight on short notice after the Storm ruled out Nelson Asofa-Solomona a month ago.

And the emotional former Origin star spoke at length after last night's loss about how everybody doubted he would last a round against the Raiders prop.

More: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/boxing-news-ben-hannants-stirring-message-after-loss-to-josh-papalii/a924650c-0eaf-4b4c-870b-f3acf0191607