[7] Powell began his career as a heavyweight boxing champion in the worlds of unlicensed fighting and the professional arena.

[10] Boxrec.com, though, lists Powell as losing sixteen times as a professional, with nine of those losses being by KO, two by TKO and five on points.

[11] Powell's boxing career was ended following injuries he sustained after being hit by a lorry in Covent Garden Market, where he was working as a porter.

[12] Powell had an extensive but mostly uncredited career in stunt work and acting, including as stuntman in 14 James Bond films.

[3][13] Amongst his TV work was the role of the powerful thug Lord Dorking in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), in which was first broadcast on 26 October 1969.

[18] Powell and fellow stunt man Max Diamond also founded the British Jousting Society.

[22] Powell later recalled that he worried the role would be recast if he could not give a good acting performance beyond his stunt work.

[22] He also acted as a "minder" (bodyguard) for a number of celebrities, including John Paul Getty Jr. and Sammy Davis Jr.[23] In 1952 Powell married Pauline Wellman, and the couple had two sons, Greg and Gary, who also grew up to become stuntmen.