PANNELL KNOCKED DOWN 3 TIMES IN 1ST ROUND

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 9, 1993                   TAG: 9304090158
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAN HIRSHBERG
DATELINE: ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.                                LENGTH: Medium
PANNELL KNOCKED DOWN 3 TIMES IN 1ST ROUND
The slot machine came up with blank lines for Roanoke's Steve Pannell on Thursday night at Merv Griffin's Hotel Casino.
Fighting for the first time in Atlantic City, Pannell was dropped three times by Ernest Mateen in the first round of their scheduled 10-rounder.
With the three knockdown rule in effect, referee Robert Palmer stepped in at 2:11 and halted the light heavyweight contest.
"Our game plan was to jab and move, jab and move," said Jim Westmoreland, Pannell's manager. "But he got caught up early trying to slug it out."
"He was hurting him with the jab," insisted trainer Harold Bennett, who indicated that Pannell had looked very good in training and would be back in the ring in a month.
"Use the jab. That's all he needed to do," continued Bennett. "The game plan was to wear Mateen down and then take him out. But Steve lost his composure and got caught."
"I fought the wrong fight," admitted Pannell, losing for the first time in 13 professional bouts. "I don't know what happened. I guess I'll just have to look at the tape."
Pannell came out jabbing as instructed, and even seemed to hurt Mateen a couple of times.
But Mateen, who remains undefeated at 16-0-1, 7 KOs, weathered the early onslaught and quickly took the fight to Pannell.
"I was waiting too long to react," Mateen said. "As soon as I started to work, I was all right. I got on top of him and brought the action to him."
About a minute into the bout, Pannell got hit with a straight right that stunned him. Moments later, Mateen fired two left hooks to Pannell's head and the Virginian lunged forward and went down for the first time.
The brawl now officially under way, Mateen got the best of it as fists were thrown wildly by both fighters.
Seconds later, Mateen dropped Pannell, again with a left hook.
"I knew he was hurt after the second knockdown," said the 177-pound Mateen, who is from Brooklyn, N.Y. "I could see it in his eyes. I have been there before. I know when someone's hurt."
With Pannell off balance, the third knockdown came easy enough, again via a left hook.
"I got into a brawl and he caught me with my hands down," Pannell said quietly in his dressing room. "I felt pretty relaxed. But I couldn't get the right hand going. I just fought the wrong fight and I paid for it."
Mateen, by far the most experienced fighter that Pannell had faced, turned pro in March of 1991. He has defeated veterans Keith Providence, Art Baylis, Jamal Arbubkar and Hector Rosario. Since getting a draw in his second fight, Mateen has won 15 in a row.
In Pannell's last outing, a fourth-round TKO victory over Bilal Muhammad, the 175-pounder looked good.
Not only did Pannell lose his first bout outside of either the Carolinas or Virginia, but he also lost his debut on national television. The fight was broadcast by ESPN as the featured undercard match.
Keywords:
BOXING

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB