CAPITOL HEIGHTS, MD (WUSA9) — The DC area said goodbye to a local legend Saturday.
Dave Jacobs Jr., the trainer who coached Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson was put to rest today after losing his life to a congestive heart failure.
Hundreds showed up to the Way of the Cross Church in Prince George's County where the funeral was held. They sung uplifting songs as people wanted to celebrate the life of Jacobs more so than mourning.
A DC native, Jacobs got his training fame with Sugar Ray Leonard when he was an amateur and stayed with him into his professional career as an assistant trainer. He helped Leonard win an Olympic gold medal and more. Leonard could not make the service but his older brother Roger, shared a letter the former wrote.
"When Mr. Jacobs walked into my life, God used him to help me win in the ring and in life," Roger said from the pulpit.
"He saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. That was determination."
Jacobs helped shape some of the best fighters and even when they lost, he used humor to motivate them.
"He said, 'Son you can't cook cold grease," Keith, one of his boxers said with a big smile. "It's got to be hot."
Jacobs was a very dedicated Christian and family man.
"Some people live their life one way in the church and then live another on the outside," the officiant of the funeral said. "But one thing you knew about Jake, is that the live he lived on the outside was the same one he lived right here(in the church) on the inside."
It didn't matter who you were to Jacobs, he consistently went out to help others. It's something his granddaughter Keisha Harvey emphasized.
"He was committed to his community, he was committed to his church family and he was committed to anybody who he ran into even if it was just a hello."
Jacobs leaves behind a loving family, countless boxer, and many friends who will continue his legacy of outreach, selflessness and more. He was 84.
