SPECIAL INTERVIEW WITH ESTER PHIRI and ANTHONY MWAABA

Junior lightweight boxer Esther Phiri was born in Lusaka, Zambia on January 1 1987, the fourth of eight children – she has three brothers and four sisters. Her father was a businessman and her mother stayed at home. Her father died when Esther was in grade 6 and the family fell on hard times without his income. Esther lived with her grandmother in the low-income urban township of Mtendere and joined her selling groceries and second hand clothes in the market. She dropped out of school and became a single mother at age 16. A turning point in Esther's life came about when the international NGO Africa Directions started a youth-centered HIV-awareness project in the area, combining health education and sport. Esther was the only girl in a physical training program that focused on boxing. She had been a tomboy from an early age was also motivated by boxing videos so she took the training seriously despite the negative reaction of some of the young males around her. Her talent for boxing soon became obvious and she was referred for further training to former Zambian amateur champion Anthony Mwamba, who had made it to the quarter finals of the 1988 Olympics. Mwamba has since prepared Phiri at his Independence Boxing Gym. Esther's pro career did not start winningly, however. She made her pro debut at Mindolo Dam, Kitwe, Zambia on July 23, 2005 against Jota Sumaili of Zambia, fighting her to a four-round draw. Sumaili had won both of her previous bouts on points, against debut boxers. PLEASE click here for more of her biography http://www.wban.org/biog/ephiri.htm