What does Zeff have to do with Sanji?
You are so dumb that you are unable to follow your own reasoning. You were the one that claimed that we can just look at enemies that the student defeated to know the strength of the master. Even acted as if bounties mattered as if Buggy is a badass.
To make it easier for a retard, like you, to understand: use a better example, animal. Only a shit character always remains weaker than his master and claiming that every enemy is weaker than a master when the master never showed anything on this level is moronic. Now try to think a little and maybe your stupid ass will understand some day. Maybe...
In the official mihawk doesnt say settle though
Yeah, I know. He asks why he would challenge Shanks after he lost his arm. That was the reason for the second question after the one you quoted.
Since you usually debate in good faith, my reasoning is actually very simple: if Mihawk was clearly the better swordsman and won against
Shanks in their bouts it would be clear in the dialogue. Even assuming that he is actually serious that Shanks is not on his level anymore, this still implies that he was good enough to have a advantage in whatever way they choose to keep the score (it can very well be that some of their bouts were like Gay vs kakashi level of bullshit). The question by itself was: if Shanks was weaker than Mihawk when they fought, why the dialogue shows Mihawk as the challenger? Specially because Mihawk never sugarcoat anything.
That was basically the challenge