Oh my god
Dude you're taking something he said about being a rival to Lucci over a DECADE AGO to say he was only equal to pre ts Lucci in Wano
Not only is that a huge misinterpretation of what he said, but it also just makes no sense. The entire point was that the pre ts Straw Hats were no where near as strong as even the most weak and basic fodders of the New World, which is why they had to train over the course of two years. And even with that training, we still have moments like Luffy being bitten by Hody, or Luffy being bruised through his Armament by Ulti's headbutt. No way you think PRE TIMESKIP LUFFY, WITHOUT ANY OF THAT TRAINING, is even tickling WsW (who, mind you, is canonically above Ulti and Hody).