Jimmy Stewart is two weeks away from ending a 12-year wait.

Stewart, 42, of Butler will fight Erik Marshall, 32, of Bradenton, Fla., for the vacant International Kickboxing Federation super welterweight title Oct. 9.

The 12-round bout will be the only kickboxing match on a professional boxing card slated at the Radisson Hotel in Morgantown, W.Va.

Stewart, 18-0 with 11 knockouts in his 12-year professional career, originally was scheduled to fight Charles Barron of Chicago for the title in Morgantown.

"I'm the No. 1 contender and Barron was No. 2," Stewart said. "Then the IKF told me Barron broke a hand or foot or something and the fight was off.

"I was pretty upset. I've had scheduled world title fights fall through in Atlanta and Los Angeles the past couple of years because of stuff like that," he added.

This time, the IKF replaced Barron with Marshall, who is 37-5 with 23 knockouts. Marshall is the U.S. welterweight champion while Stewart holds the U.S. light middleweight title.

Marshall found out about the fight Monday. His last bout was a loss - a 12-round decision to Scien Kirsten in Germany for the World Association of Kickboxing Organization title April 24.

"That's the premier kickboxing sanctioning body in Europe," Marshall said. "I've since opened my own kickboxing and karate school and haven't done much training lately. I'll have to step it up in a hurry."

"We're about the same height, same weight. … It's the best against the best," Stewart said. "That's how it should be."

Stewart is 5-feet-10, 153 pounds while Marshall is 5-9, 147. The two fighters will not exchange video of each other in action.

"I don't know anything about him and he doesn't know anything about me," Stewart said. "We'll just step in the ring and see who gets it done.

"I'm in great physical shape and I'm prepared to go 12 hard rounds. That's probably going to be what it will take to win," he added.

Marshall won five world titles as an amateur and is the current World Kickboxing Organization light-middleweight champion.

He won the U.S. welterweight title by knocking out Heath Fonnest of Forest Lake, Minn., in the third round Aug. 31, 2002.

"I know Stewart's very clean and crisp in the ring," Marshall said. "Both of us have been around for a while. It should be a good, clean fight. I'm looking forward to it."

Stewart won a 10-round decision over Bernard "Swiftkick" Robinson July 26 in his last fight. The Marshall bout will be only Stewart's second fight since November.

"When you're 1-5 or 6-12, your phone rings off the hook for matches," Stewart said. "When you're undefeated, the phone never rings. That's the way it is in this game.

"Boxing's even worse. You see a lot of unbeaten guys fighting guys who are 1-13. You won't see that in kickboxing. This sport puts guys of equal caliber in the ring together," he added.

Tickets for the Oct. 9 fight card will be available Monday at the Stewart Center. Call 724-284-3725.