You’re gonna want sumo this.
Two Big Apple-bred sumo wrestlers will take part in the sport’s world championships held in the suburbs for the first time — and each of them said their love lives have blossomed since getting into the “super niche” heavyweight competition.
Josh Ortiz, of the Bronx, and Kofi Miller, of Brooklyn, are among the 12-plus-sized athletes who will take to the mat at the World Championship Sumo in White Plains on Jan. 30, fulfilling a dream neither of them realized they even had.
The International Sumo League says roughly 60% of tickets already sold to the event at the Westchester County Center went to families with young kids, while 40% were purchased by women.
That surge in popularity has done wonders for the sumo wrestler’s dating lives, the championship hopefuls revealed to The Post.
“Lately it’s been pretty positive! It’s always wide-eyed shock like, ‘What? You’re really doing that?’” said Ortiz, 39, who weighs in at 275 pounds.
“It shows you can fight, which is always a positive in a situation like that.”
Miller, 26, resoundingly agreed: “It’s always worked for me!”
“If she was already interested because I’m a big guy, then I show her I’m a really big guy! She knows I can handle myself,” Miller said.
It’s not just possible matches who are taking notice — the duo even appeared on “Saturday Night Live” last month.
“If you told me five years ago, ‘You’re going to be on TV and competing and doing sumo, I would have told you you’ve lost your mind!” Miller said.
Miller, of Bed-Stuy, was introduced to the sport by happenstance — he was working as a security guard at a neighborhood sports lounge when a rikishi, or sumo fighter, dropped off a flyer for the New York Sumo club last March.
His boss encouraged him to give it a go, telling the 342-pound athlete: “You’re one of the biggest guys I know, I want you going there and show me something!”
Miller was instantly hooked and found connectivity in the ancient Japanese sport.
“I think sumo’s one of the most New York things you could do. New York is all about standing on your own two feet, and the easiest way to win at sumo is to be on your own two feet,” Miller explained.
Ortiz came to sumo out of curiosity — the Pelham Bay resident began his journey as a spectator during the COVID-19 pandemic and finally entered the ring two years ago.
Already a gym rat, Ortiz was fascinated by the ritual of sumo, as well as the athleticism it required.
“Everyone sees the belt — the mawashi — and thinks ‘Oh man, guys in diapers!’ … When you start breaking down the layers, it’s a very technical, beautiful, spiritually grounded sport, and I wanted a piece of that,” Ortiz said, describing the sport as “super niche.”
“Everything has a purpose in the ring and everything has a purpose in our rituals.”
Interest in sumo — both in competing and spectating — has blossomed in recent years, which is what led the International Sumo League to host its fourth annual world championships at the County Center.
Competitors from across the globe, including from the Republic of Georgia and Samoa, will fight for the gold.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
