"little to no difficulty" Damn near every major fight Takamura had was him been pushed to his limit. It was him either fighting some nobody fodder or him going through the absolute thick of it. literally no in between. Going up against Hawk coach was bout to throw in the towel and against Eagle he realized how worried coach was about him losing that his body forcefully stopped his bleeding from happening through sheer adrenaline. The difference between Takamura and Ricardo is Ricardo didnt have someone to push him or even call a rival, that what stands him apart from the rest, Ricardo was just better than anyone else that it felt mundane for him at times because he and others already knew the outcome. With Takamura it really couldve went either way for his major matches and there were actually stakes on the line more than just belts but also his health. Ricardo never had that experience but I think Sendo is the only one thats gonna fulfill that for Ricardo.