Toughness that you didn't earn isn't worth much.
By earning it, I meant that you aren't tough because friends geared you up, or tough because they had your back all the time.
I don't know if Ilix was one of those, since I had minimal contact with him, but plenty of people have alleged shady behavior and the pbf does seem to support having a particular bondmate as a crutch. If that wasn't an innocent association, then you don't know as to whether it extended to getting uber-gear etc.
In my eyes, Djabree was tough. But that's because he did stuff like time his lagging and chose his weapons well. On the other hand, I don't particular consider a character who uses ooc contacts to gather gear and help him pk to be tough. If they were genuinely tough, they wouldn't need to do that. (Not directed at Ilix. I have another character in mind that people consider to be tough.)