Croatian Ante Bilic, a former WBO European middleweight champion, is coming back at the age of 42 after serving a jail sentence for murder.

Bilic, inactive since outpointing Rafael Bejaran over 12 rounds in 2012, turned professional in 2002 before signing with Universum Box’s sister company, German Spotlight Boxing.

After cruising to 15-0, Bilic encountered future WBO titlist Lucas Konecny only to lose a close but unanimous decision after 12 in 2006. A switch to Arena Box Promotion followed before he would lose an eight-rounder to fringe contender Sergey Sorokin in 2007.

Bilic won the WBO European bauble in 2012, beating Bejaran, before his 26-2 (13 KOs) career inadvertently hit the skids. Bilic claimed self defense after shooting a man to death, but the court ruled otherwise, and he served 12 years for murder.

He will return as a light heavyweight on Sunday February 23 in a scheduled six against Georgia’s Beka Aduashvili, 18-33-3 (8 KOs), at the Sportska Dvorana in Zabok, Croatia. Aduashvilli, 27, hasn’t registered victory since 2022 and has lost his last eight bouts by knockout.