[1] Rhondda born Phineas John, turned professional around 1926, fighting local fighters in the Glamorgan area of south Wales, mainly in Bridgend and Pontypridd.

He followed this with two fights in Liverpool in April 1928, before returning to Wales to face Minty Rose in an eliminator for the Welsh Area flyweight title.

1929 started with a loss through disqualification to Billy Clarke, before recording seven straight wins, including a victories over Cuthbert Taylor and Bert Kirby, and a successful defence of his flyweight title to Merthyr fighter Jerry O'Neil.

His first bout at his new weight saw him take the Welsh Area bantamweight title from Cuthbert Taylor in a contest on 2 September 1929 at Pontypridd.

On his return to Great Britain, John fought another six times that year, with patchy results; winning three but losing against Ginger Jones, Seaman Tommy Watson and another defeat at the hands of Benny Sharkey.

In 1933, the News Chronicle and the Sporting Life set up a knockout contest between 16 featherweight contenders, to find a challenger to face British champion Nel Tarleton.

[5][6] On his return from Australia, John's form suffered, finishing 1934 with losses to Johnny King, Dick Corbett and Cuthbert Taylor.

His form didn't recover until 1938 when he lost only four of his seventeen bouts, which saw John defeat the likes of George Marsden and Tommy Hyams.