His form continued to fluctuate throughout the rest of the year, failing to string two wins together until he defeated Allan Cooke and Len Bennett in December.

He ended the year with a points decision win over Australian Jackie Marr at the Royal Albert Hall in London, an undercard fight to the British bantamweight contest between Teddy Gardner and Danny O'Sullivan.

In early 1950, Powell faced Southern area champion and British title hopeful Mark Hart, beating the London-based fighter on points.

Powell then faced a string of over-seas fighters including Bernardo Pacini (Italy), American Mel Brown (United States), Jean Declercq (Belgium) and Dutch champion Willy Schagen.

Although Powell beat Pacini and Declercq, he was outclassed twice by Schagen, and despite a valiant comeback after being floored early on by Brown, a cut eye forced him to retire against the Minnesota fighter.

1951 saw Powell take three victories in the first half of the year, including a points decision over Victor d'Haes, who just six months later would become the Belgian light heavyweight champion.

He fought regularly throughout the year and recorded wins over South African Billy Wood and then future Midlands area champion Don Scott, before finally beating Northern Ireland's Paddy Slavin, an opponent he had failed to defeat on their previous two encounters.

Walker was badly injured and fought only a few times more before retiring to become a minder for East End gangster Billy Hill, while Powell required twenty stitches to his face and in the eyes of one observer was "never quite the same man again".