A TRUE gentleman of Bradford boxing will mark a half-century in the sport today by doing what he does best.

Pop into the Russell Street gym this evening and you will see him hard at work with the next generation of ring hopefuls.

Last night, he took a group to Sheffield from Bradford Police ABC, where he is head coach, for a show. Fifty years on and there is no sign of Julian Cyprien letting up.

An accomplished cricketer in his youth with Manningham Mills, he did not lace up his first pair of gloves until the age of 18.

He recalled: "My mum wouldn't let me box when I was younger. A lot of my West Indian friends were doing it already but I had to wait.

"I got introduced to boxing by Johnny Angel, a Nigerian middleweight, at a gym in Hipperholme. I lived in there seven days a week.

"I wouldn't say I had a gift but I just worked very hard. I thought that if I was going to do it, I wanted to do it properly."

So Cyprien would get up at 5am for an early run, spend a full working day in the mill and then take two buses for his evening gym session.

It's a work ethic that has stood the test of time. Even today, slacking is strictly forbidden under his expert eye.

He said: "These days they all cut corners. You see young kids who think they know it all and don't have the discipline.

"But you are only cheating yourself if you don't give it everything. You have to listen and learn.

"I'll tell them and you can see some thinking that Julian's making up his stories again. I get called 'old man' and this and that but you try to pass on your experience."

The young Cyprien did well as an amateur but was not encouraged to go pro. He made that decision himself after going to Leeds Town Hall to watch Maurice Thomas in action – "I saw how he was fighting and knew I could do that."

After a battle to convince the British Boxing Board of Control to give him a licence, he made the move as 'Gentleman' Jim Moore.

Cyprien, alias Moore, fought 47 times over a five-year period in the 1970s. He won 12 of those but nobody could accuse him of ducking the toughest challenges as he mixed it with some of the best domestic welterweights of the time.

In three successive fights, he faced Jimmy Batten, Bobby Arthur and Kirkland Laing – who would later shock the boxing world by beating Roberto Duran.

Most shockingly, he also saw an opponent die in the ring at Bradford's Midland Hotel. Mick Pinkney collapsed during the fifth round – an inquest later reporting that he had choked on his own blood.

The fight in 1972 was only Cyprien's third but left him questioning whether to continue with the sport.

He reflected: "It was a very difficult time. I still think about it today – it's still there in my head.

"I put it to the kids about just how dangerous boxing can be. It is a very good sport but you have to take precautions, although the medical checks are much tighter now.

"I remember looking at my opponent before that fight and thinking how poorly he looked. He had been taking aspirins and you could see him frothing through his mouth guard.

"There were no punches thrown when he collapsed. He came forward with a jab and just fell over.

"It shouldn't have been matched. It was bad management and unfortunately went tragically wrong.

"I did think about packing it in for a while. I got the blame from a doctor at the time, even though I knew it wasn't my fault.

"I carried on afterwards but, looking back, I think that spoiled my boxing career."

Cyprien/Moore would fight on for another five years, chiefly as a light-middleweight, before calling it quits following a first-round loss to Mick Mills in Southend in November 1977.

Established local coach Terry O'Neill persuaded him to stay in the game, arguing that he "knew too much" to simply walk away.

So Cyprien moved to the corner and passed on his know-how, taking the same pride from guiding Martin Bridges to a central area title as he had throwing the punches himself.

He said: "I remember the report from the fight saying it was Jim Moore in Martin Bridges' hands. He was the model of me."

Now with 50 years under his belt, will it soon be time for Cyprien to ring the final bell and grow old gracefully?

"I get asked that every day but they'll have to carry me out of the gym," he chuckles. "Apart from my family, it's a way of life for me.

"I have been called by my first name by Terry Downes, the world champion at the time, at ringside and met the England 1966 World Cup winners. I've had some wonderful times in boxing, as well as some difficult ones.

"I've got a good wife, who is very understanding. Sometimes she moans a bit but she always encourages me – and she knows that I could never give this up."