Beginner here, how do you improve taking punches?

Had my first sparring session a month in training. One of the coach instructions was to be nothing but defensive for 2mins, punches only. Partner had to throw everything they got as fast as possible. Idea is both need to gas out before the next round with a combination to work on, and for the defensive guy to focus on just defense.

I feel that my partner went too hard (I felt like a punching bag and just taking hits on my gloves/guard without really being aware what’s happening) so next time I should communicate to them to be fast rather than connecting too hard. But how can I also improve in guarding/evading/blocking for those 2 minutes straight?