We all love our underdog story, a scrappy protagonist who'd climb up the latter and defy all odds. But what if they didn't? What if the underdog loses? Would it hurt the character?
It can be a double-edged sword. If you have a character win alot then it becomes predictable. The audience are no longer invested because they know the character is going to overcome each obstacle. But if you have the character lose everytime then audiences sees the character as you've written him, a loser. An example on the former, Goku from Dragonball. An example on the latter, the heroes of Young Justice.
A hero can look good, even in defeat, as long as you have the hero likable enough and showcase him working his butt off to achieve a victory.
In the first Rocky film it did Rocky's underdog story pretty well. You can sympathize Rocky's shortcomings and he knows full well that he couldn't defeat Apollo. His only hope is going the distance. Yet whenever he comes close to beating him you'd find yourself cheering Rocky on. Adrian viewing the fight was clearly her channeling the movie viewing audience. When it was all over, Rocky won the public over. Even in defeat.
As a writer I'm a firm believer in making my characters earn their victories. To use Rocky as an example again, he had a rematch against Apollo Creed. What I liked about this rematch was Apollo was taking this rematch seriously and once Rocky got his head in the game he took it seriously too. And he earned that victory against Apollo.
So it doesn't hurt in having your character lose a battle. As long as you don't make your character too pathetic in the process. Because, when that character eventually earns a victory, his victory will be glorious.
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