Over 12,000 fans attended the official opening of the new GGG Sports Complex as 35-year-old GGG (37-0-0, 33KO) – who now fights out of Los Angeles, California – returned home to open the government-funded multi-sports centre which will include judo, boxing, weightlifting, football and swimming.
Young Kazakh judoka were first to greet their nation’s hero outside the complex where they will now train before WBA, WBC, IBO and IBF champion GGG returns to Big Bear in California to launch his training camp for the biggest boxing fight of the year against once-beaten Mexican Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on 16 September at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Kazakhstan, hosts of the last World Judo Championships, in Astana in 2015, won two Olympic medals at Rio 2016 on day one with world champion Yeldos Smetov taking -60kg silver and Otgontsetseg Galbadrakh winning -48kg bronze.