By Chris LaBate

According to a report in the Philippine Star, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has had to take it easy with lightweight Jorge Linares after busting up the Venezuelan lightweight in a recent sparring session. A few days ago, Pacquiao was dominating Linares in sparring, and even with head gear he managed to open a cut above Linares' left eye.  When they sparred again on Friday, Pacquiao was holding back his punches to avoid the possibility of re-opening the cut.

Linares praised Pacquiao's power, stating - "I'm glad we had head gear on. You can really feel his power in there."

Linares returns next Saturday on the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson undercard at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Linares faces Antonio DeMarco for the vacant WBC title. Pacquiao defends his title against Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.