He helped inflate LL Cool J’s Michelin Man arms, getting his physique as swollen as a hot dog left in the microwave too long.
Trainer Dave “Scooter” Honig and Daniel Jacobs have been hitting it hard in the gym.
Now, trainer Dave “Scooter” Honig has a new charge: Daniel Jacobs.
As Jacobs (28-1, 25 KOs) prepares for his 160-pound clash with Caleb Truax (25-1-2, 15 KOs) on April 24 in Chicago, which will air on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET/PT, he’s made several additions to his camp, chief among them strength and conditioning coach Honig, whose star-studded clientele has ranged from actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Tyler Perry to boxing champs Zab Judah, Joan Guzman, Oleg Maskaev and plenty more.
Honig’s focus has been on helping Jacobs become more explosive of an athlete—not beefing him up like a certain rapper-turned-actor who takes his marching orders from his mom.
His aim has been to shock Jacobs’ system with new, constantly changing work-out regimens, predicated upon exercises that make Jacobs think and act at once—just like he has to do in the ring.
“We’ve been incorporating a lot of techniques that Danny hasn’t used in other training camps, and it’s really helping him along,” say Honig, whose veins bulge from his biceps as if they’ve been injected with helium. “You can see it his sparring, his snap. His strength, his power, his speed—everything is getting better.”
Jacobs has noticed the difference thus far.
“My body is looking like I’ve never seen it," he says. “I’m doing things that I’ve never done before—never even seen before. He’s gotten me to reach my peak.”
Honig is but one new face in the Jacobs camp.
After struggling to make weight last time out, Jacobs has hired a nutritionist to oversee his diet.
He’s also recruited veteran trainer Willie Vargas, whom Jacobs has known for years but who he has never worked with in an official capacity, to add a few wrinkles to camp along with longtime trainer Andre Rozier.
The idea is for this fresh approach to lead to a familiar result: victory.
“I think that sometimes when you have the same trainers, you might get a little bit of a standstill. It’s always good to add different pieces to the puzzle,” Jacobs says. “Adding Willie to the team is just a little change from what we normally do. He’s a master, a guru of the sport. He’s going to be help sharpen the tools.”
