Between Rings: The Esther Phiri Story is a documentary film co-written and co-directed by Zambian filmmaker Jessie Chisi, and Finnish director Salla Sorri.

The film is about Esther Phiri, Chisi's cousin, who left her education and prospect of marriage to embark on a boxing career, and became seven-time world welterweight champion.

In a country where the average life expectancy is 40, and over 80% of the population live in poverty, and where HIV/AIDS, at epidemic rates, is twice as likely to impact women – Phiri beat the odds in terms of both culture and gender, and became a success.

Phiri, who is sometimes called the "Laila Ali of Zambia" and sometimes "the real Million Dollar Baby", found herself torn, in the midst of her success, between her personal life and her professional goals.

[1] In the film, Phiri expresses her desire to see more girls and women pursue sports as a means to independence and empowerment, and a way to evade the many pitfalls of Zambian life, including poverty, drugs, crime and STDs.

Beyond the interest in Phiri's story because Chisi is related to her, the effect of her career in the region had been tremendous: Not only were Zambian girls entering the sport in increasing numbers, but neighboring Zimbabwe had also just allowed women to compete as professional boxers for the first time.