We could meet in the middle if Yonko fandom were reasonable instead of gatekeeping "Yonko level" from other characters like Rayleigh.
Despite Garp comparing Whitebeard/Rayleigh as Legends, despite Oda comparing Ray/Shanks CoC in a question totally irrelevant to Rayleigh, despite Blackbeard fearing Rayleigh's rep.
And now Luffy's said it himself. Its almost poetic in a way.