He eventually adopted the role as "policeman" for the promotion, maintaining law and order, especially during matches involving his brother Mike LeBell.

Beck engaged in abundant trash-talk, but revealed a very limited knowledge of martial arts, seemingly mistaking judo for karate.

[7] Encouraged by Ed Parker,[6] LeBell accepted the challenge and travelled to Salt Lake City to meet Beck.

To his surprise, he learned his opponent would not be Beck but another boxer, journeyman Milo Savage, who LeBell claimed also had a background in amateur wrestling.

[8] According to LeBell and other sources, Savage's gloves allegedly contained brass knuckles[7][8] and his gi was greased with vaseline to make gripping it more difficult.

[8][9] Nevertheless, LeBell got mount and found the opportunity to execute an armbar, but he opted instead to seek a choke, concluding that Savage would not surrender to a broken arm.

According to 1999 interview with LeBell, the judoka and his team showed their sportsmanship by helping to revive Savage using kappo, as neither the referee nor the ring doctor knew how to resuscitate him.

[8] As noted by Black Belt in a write-up about LeBell following his death in 2022 that briefly covered the event, he was known to fabricate stories regarding his exploits.

[11] As a result, it is possible that many of the claims he made regarding the fight, such as the use of brass knuckles, the audience member attempting to stab LeBell, and the extent of Savage's grappling experience, may be exaggerated or outright fabricated.

In June 1976, LeBell refereed the infamous boxing-versus-wrestling contest between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki in Tokyo, Japan.

[13] LeBell has opened two martial art schools in cooperation with others and has touted his 1963 match with Milo Savage as the first televised MMA fight in America.

[14][15] In 1994, LeBell counted kickboxing champion Benny Urquidez and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners the Machado brothers among his training partners.

Being 63 years old, LeBell declined to compete or to send a representative, instead suggesting a match against Royce's 82-year-old father, the renowned Hélio Gracie.

[citation needed] In addition he also worked on the set of the Green Hornet TV show, in which he developed a friendship with Bruce Lee.

The program featured several other martial artists including Graciela Casilas, Karen Sheperd, Victor Ledbetter, Steve Sanders, brothers Benny and Reuben Urquidez, and Dave Vaden.

[citation needed] On March 23, 1991, LeBell was awarded the Honorary "Reel" Membership by the Ring of Friendship of the Cauliflower Alley Club.

Others awarded have been James Cagney, Kirk Douglas, Karl Malden, Cesar Romero and Mickey Rooney (movie stars that also did boxing and wrestling).

[22] The popularity of this incident led LeBell to be counted in 1992 as a potential additional member of Robert Wall's controversial "Dirty Dozen," a group of martial artists willing to answer to a public challenge made by Seagal.

[4] LeBell was requested to confirm the story publicly in an interview with Ariel Helwani in 2012, but he avoided answering the question, albeit implying that the incident was true.

He has trained with or taught grappling skills to many well-known wrestlers and martial artists, such as Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Bob Wall, Chuck Norris, Ed Parker, Gokor Chivichyan, Karo Parisyan, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Mando Guerrero, Manny Gamburyan.

[26] The pink colored judo gi became a trademark of LeBell and was a result of a laundry mixup while preparing for a competition in Japan.