Manny Pacquiao pleased after first day of sparring

Less than two months away from his highly anticipated bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao stepped into the ring Tuesday for his first day of sparring after nearly a month of conditioning exercises.

Pacquiao came away from Tuesday's session, at trainer Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club, pleased with his performance through five rounds, the latest step in his preparations for the May 2 clash.

"After 13 days of strength and conditioning and boxing drills at Wild Card plus weeks more of working out in the Philippines in February, it was great to finally put on the headgear and spar," Pacquiao told ESPN's Dan Rafael. "My sparring partners gave me good work today. They were perfect for testing the strategy Freddie and I have developed to beat Floyd Mayweather. I was very happy with my stamina and speed today."

Pacquiao's efforts drew praise from Roach, who opined that his pupil's upcoming fight could forever be remembered as "the day [Pacquiao] drove Mayweather out of boxing."

"When Manny threw out the first punch it felt like opening day of Irish spring training," Roach joked, noting that it was St. Patrick's Day. "Manny looked so fresh today. I'm very happy with what he showed me. You couldn't tell he had been away from the ring since the (Chris) Algieri fight in November. Manny is on fire in the gym."

Pacquiao's last bout came back on Nov. 23, 2014 when he defeated Chris Algieri by unanimous decision to retain his World Boxing Organization welterweight title.