Aug 1, 2007 11:23 pm US/Eastern
Sumo-Size Me? Not Anymore Says Former Champ
'Tiny' Yarbrough Begins Massive Weight Loss Crusade
By Scott Rapoport, CBS 2 News
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (CBS) ―
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Currently weighing more than 700 pounds, former sumo wrestling world champion Emanuel "Tiny" Yarbrough says he hopes to lose at least 300 pounds.
CBS
Call it the "sumo slim down."
One of the world's largest is going on diet.
In a sport where size matters, one local wrestler has decided to put his health first.
In the world of sumo wrestling, where gigantic gladiators engage in colossal collisions, one of the weightiest warriors is a guy named "Tiny."
Clearly there is nothing tiny about 42-year-old sumo wrestler Emanuel "Tiny Yarbrough, who recently tipped the scales at 753 pounds. Here is a massive man who won the open competition at the 1995 World Sumo Championships, and has finished as a runner-up three other times.
"Actually, I topped out at 815," Yarbrough said. "The all-time highest, I was over 800 pounds."
And while that may seem like a good thing in a sport like this, with competitors this humongous, this 6-foot-7 behemoth will be the first to tell you he could afford to drop a few pounds. OK, maybe a few hundred to spare. He tipped the scales Wednesday at 712 pounds.
"Yeah, I got a couple to spare," said Yarbrough, a three-time NCAA wrestling All-American at Morgan State.
When asked how much weight he wants to lose, Yarbrough didn't hesitate.
"Three hundred pounds," he said. "The perfect weight would be 257."
Getting to that perfect weight may determine if he makes a comeback in sumo wrestling or meets another goal, competing in U.S. Olympic judo qualifying.
When told he currently weighs nearly three times his target amount, "Tiny" chuckled.
"I know," he said.
Hypertension, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure ... "Tiny" has had them all. He's had a myriad of maladies, he says are the result of not enough exercise and too much junk food.
"I could probably eat two to three bags of potato chips in a sitting," he said.
This brings us to Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey, where with the help of doctors "Tiny" will attempt a sumo-sized slim-down. He's hoping for a comeback in the ring and for improved health through a better diet.
"It consists of two shakes a day, two bars, and a sensible meal at night," Yarbrough said.
Added Dr. Leah Solomon: "I'd like to see him lose just 20 percent of his weight. After that, I'm happy."
"Tiny" has already lost 41 pounds in only two weeks, but this former champ knows this fight has only just begun.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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