He was introduced to amateur sumo when he was a little boy. Through his judo coach Riho Rannikmaa, and an official from the Kagoshima Prefecture Sumo Association, Kazuo Kurazono, encouraged him to join the professional sport. Due to the restrictions on foreigners entering sumo, the only stable with a place available was Mihogaseki. He came to Japan with a friend from Estonia, Ott Juurikas, who entered Irumagawa stable and fought under the name of Kitaoji but quit after only one tournament. Höövelson was given the "shikona" or fighting name of Baruto, a reference to the Japanese name of the Baltic sea, and made his professional debut in May 2004. He moved very quickly up the rankings, reaching the "jūryō" division after only 8 tournaments (tied for the third-fastest rise to "sekitori" status since 1958 when the current six-tournament-a-year format was adopted) and compiling a record of 41–8 on the way.