He doesn't make them 100 percent direct, but if you read the dialogue of Branew, he set Shanks as the Gold standard.
The misconception is that "Buggy Rivals Shanks"
Then he turns around and says "Mihawks Swordsmanship surpasses Shanks swordsmanship."
One is thought to rival Shanks, the other surpasses his swordsmanship. Not one Rivals Shanks, and the other surpasses him.
Oda explicitly added the Swordsmanship bit in there, right after a direct strength comparison.