Croatian Ante Bilic, former WBO European middleweight champion, is returning to the ring at the age of 42 after serving a prison sentence for murder. Bilic last fought in 2012 when he defeated Rafael Bejaran. He began his pro career in 2002 before signing with Germany's Universum Box.
Bilic earned a 15-0 record before facing future WBO titleholder Lukas Konecny in 2006 and losing a close but unanimous judges' decision. A move to Arena Box Promotion followed before he lost an 8-round fight to second-tier boxer Sergey Sorokin in 2007. Bilic won the WBO European title in 2012 by defeating Bejaran before his career with a record of 26-2 (13 KOs) went downhill.
Bilic served 12 years for murder when he shot a man, though the defense insisted it was self-defense.
As a result, the Croatian will return to the bantamweight division this coming Sunday, Feb. 23 in a scheduled six-round bout against Beki Aduashvili
