i've followed this Expo indirectly because a professional fighter i follow (Gennady Gennadyvich Golovkin) is from Karaganda, a small mining town in KZ. Golovkin

i've followed this Expo indirectly because a professional fighter i follow (Gennady Gennadyvich Golovkin) is from Karaganda, a small mining town in KZ. Golovkin, aka "GGG", is regarded by many (most?) current and former professional boxers and boxing commentators as the best fighter in the world regardless of weight class (P4P). Several months ago, GGG's promoter (K2) said via press release that they were in serious discussions--with an expectation of success--to have GGG's next fight in Astana during the Expo. the economics of fight promotions is mysterious, at least to me, but i should think getting this fight in Astana during the World Expo would have been a massive economic boost to offset the Expo's staggering cost more than that though. GGG is not just a professional fighter from Kazakstan; he's the stuff of legends: Olympic silver medalist, World Amateur Champion (2X), amateur record of 352 wins, five losses, and a current professional record of 37-0. For eight years--from 2008 to 2016--he won every one of his fights by knockout. About five years ago when GGG Was just a contender, he called out Sergio Martinez, the current champion in GGG's weight class, SM's trainer said publicly "there's no way i'm putting Sergio in with that animal". in an interview a couple of years ago (available on youtube), when a reporter asked Manny Pacquiao about GGG's, Pacquiano just shook his head in disbelief. during a fight with the British Champion, Matthew Macklin, Jim Watts, former LW world champion and ITV commentator said "Matthew Macklin is a terrific fighter, but there's nothing he can do, this fellow [GGG] is just on another level which until tonight i didn't even know existed" About a minute later, GGG hit MM with a left hand to the ribcage (GGG is a right-handed fighter!) MM went down immediately and remained there for about 20 minutes. needless to say, he's idolized in his home country and to have him return to fight in KZ (for the first time since becoming a professional) during the World Expo--you couldn't write a better movie script. and yet the deal somehow fell through on the Expo side. All of the money spent on the Expo and none of it earmarked to underwrite this sporting event--disappointing