The "Usyk is small" myth

"Otherwise he'd have fought at HW, where the big money and glory is."

That was probably always the plan eventually but perhaps he (and more importantly, K2 promotions) had no interest fighting his friend and compatriot Wlad. Usyk may have wanted to get the belts at cruiser first so he'd have a mandatory spot at heavyweight (which may have saved him taking HW wear and reduced the risk of a freak loss, as well as being massively avoided in the much more lucrative glamour division). Perhaps Usyk saw the Povetkin fight and didn't think he'd receive fair officiating. And maybe he wanted the P4P accolades by becoming undisputed at cruiser first.

Your point about HW money and status carries substantial truth but it has to be examined case by case. A lot of people wrote Usyk off against Joshua based on that line of thinking.