The AvA hasn't always been like this. At least, not the times I was involved. Sure there was smack, but this is a whole new level of rivalry between the sides.
As far as my skill level, I'll let it speak for itself. It is what it is, and if someone (say an average Allied pilot) wants to see how good I am I'll gladly 1v1 them. I may win, I may lose. People who boast of their skills are generally making something from nothing.
Having said that, skill level and a good fight aren't necessarily linked. A person can fight well, and not be that skilled. By fighting poorly I mean ganging/vulching/hoing constantly/etc. There are very skilled pilots on the allied side, but there are very few fun fighters. Oldman, Deadalos (the few times I've fought him), 1Duke1, I haven't fought you other than the DA, but you fought very honorably there. That's about the end of it. There are a couple of players I had good fights with but they were just passing through the AvA.
On the other hand, I'd gladly fight any JG54 and most of JG11 and be confident I'm not going to be ackdragged, hoed, etc. The same can't be said for all axis pilots, which is why I only mentioned JG54 and JG11.