Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao continued to toil inside the Wild Card Gym as he engaged into a heated sparring session with WBA junior lightweight champion Jorge Linares.

A report by The Ring Magazine’s Doug Fischer said Linares made a four-hour drive to Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California, Thursday (Friday in Manila) to test his mettle through a four-round session with Pacquiao.

Some of the highlights of the sparring session were Pacquiao's counterpunches against Linares, who was training in Las Vegas for a May 9 title defense in Texas.

“A minute into the round, Pacquiao exploded without warning, counter punching with lightning-bolt shots over and under Linares’s jab. The taller, rangier Venezuelan was knocked off balance more from surprise than sheer impact of the punches, but he quickly steeled himself and doubled a hard jab to earn respect and a second to get his feet under him,” said Fischer.

The session also brought out Linares's ability to throw well-timed shots.

“When Pacquiao let up for a second, Linares calmly timed a hard jab that landed flush and knocked Pacquiao back on his heels. Before Pacquiao could even flash a smile, Linares launched himself off the ropes and nailed the pound-for-pound king with a clean one-two combination,” said Fischer.

After the intense sparring, Pacquiao walked across the ring and gave Linares a hug, thanking him for the session.

Fischer said it was not the first time Pacquiao and Linares sparred.

“The last time they met in Wild Card’s ring, Pacquiao had just gained recognition as the linear featherweight champ by dominating Marco Antonio Barrera and Linares was an unknown teenage featherweight prospect,” narrated Fischer.

Pacquiao told ABS-CBN’s Dyan Castillejo that his training is all good.

He said he still has plenty of time to perfect attack plan against Ricky Hatton during their May 2 clash in Las Vegas.

“So far so good naman, maganda ang training ko at walang problema. Not totally 100 percent, pero we have time to get to 100 percent condition,” he said.

Aside from playing darts, Pacquiao has added table tennis to his past times outside training. He said playing darts and table tennis helps him develop his hand and eye coordination.