Sumo wrestler will work to slim down

Published Oct. 20, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Fearing that he might pack on the pounds when he retires, Manny Yarbrough is on a mission to slim down now.

And at 6-foot-7 and 719 pounds, the sumo wrestler nicknamed "Tiny" certainly has room for improvement when it comes to becoming healthy and fit heading into his anticipated retirement next year.

"I'm desperate to get back to my best college shape in time for the nationals next year," he told ABC News. "It's the sportsman in me, that never-give-up attitude," he said. "It's a challenge. I had to give it a shot because of that inner athlete in me pushing me to do it."

Yarbrough, who turned 49 in September, has made the most of his weight. He wrestled at Morgan State, where he was an All-American in the mid-1980s.

"I'd do what everybody else did growing up, but from the age of about 6 I knew I was bigger than the others and probably always would be," he said.

He still will be down the road, but Yarbrough recognizes the risks if he doesn't act.

"Once I retire, it's about a quality of life I want to have," he said.