Canberra Raiders prop Josh Papalii set to fight Nelson Asofa-Solomona on NRL fight night

"Yeah look, it's probably not the opponent you want to pick out of the hat. He's scary, I've seen the Bali fight," the Canberra Raiders and Queensland front-rower said.

But now Papalii is set to take on one of the biggest men in the NRL when he fights the Melbourne Storm powerhouse in Townsville on February 12.

Boxing promoter Dean Lonergan has launched a fight night stacked with rugby league identities like Junior Paulo, Todd Carney, Justin Hodges and Sandor Earl on a card set to include the third bout of Australian heavyweight champion Justis Huni's professional career.

D&L Events chief Lonergan is still working to lock in Huni's next opponent with Papalii's battle with Asofa-Solomona, who stands at 200 centimetres tall and tips the scales at more than 115 kilograms, a main event contender.

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"He's going to be a hard man to stop but get to wear headgear and all that so I think I'll be safe. Someone my size would have been alright, but Nelson is going to have to do," Papalii said.

"It's going to be a bit of a challenge, and hopefully it can kickstart something for the future, or it might put it all to bed."

Papalii steps inside the ring with Raiders coach Ricky Stuart's blessing, having chased a fight for the best part of four years. He's been so desperate he had a clause written into his contract allowing him to box.

The 28-year-old will join the Raiders for pre-season training in the new year with boxing giving the hulking prop an outlet to keep his mind busy.

"Once I get enough time to myself, I start getting carried away with the beers and the free time," Papalii said.

"So this will keep me focused and hopefully I come back in decent shape to start the season, and hopefully get off to a good start.

"[Stuart] known for a long time that I've always been interested in getting in the ring. He was always keen, he was just more worried about my mindset, and he just doesn't want me to be gassed out at the start of the year.

"It's something I've wanted to do for a while, I just couldn't find the time to get the training and all that done, and then obviously the fight night as well.

"It's been a long three to four-year wait to actually get one. I just told my manager and we always had the clause in our contract with the Raiders to get it done, and we've finally got it done."