Holmes, 52, Will Fight ‘Butterbean’

Even at 52, Larry Holmes said, “I still got that fast, lightning left jab,” and he plans to prove it July 27 when he fights Eric “Butterbean” Esch in a one-fight comeback.

Holmes, the former heavyweight champion, will be fighting for the first time since Nov. 17, 2000, when he knocked out Mike Weaver in the sixth round.

Holmes said he’s in good shape financially and is returning to the ring “because I want to. I have all these things, but I still want to fight and I still can fight.”

Holmes said he’s going to make $250,000 from the bout; Esch, 35, declined to reveal what he will be paid.

Esch, 6 feet, 355 pounds, is a former Toughman competition champion who has become known as the “King of the Four-Rounders” in his seven years as a professional. In Esch’s last fight on May 5, he knocked out Weaver in four rounds.

The 10-round fight, announced Wednesday, was ostensibly set up to settle a score between the fighters after Holmes wrote in his book, “Against the Odds,” that boxers such as Esch have no place in the sport.