Yes it matters because oda talked about characters in the spread.
You are inserting Mihawk out of nowhere to make a case which is irrelevant.
And, this spread belongs to chapter 1031.
And, oda clearly said - Bepo is second strongest combat wise and he's number 2 like others in the spread.
Combat wise means strength and not prominence.
You can see anything you want but I will take author's words over yours.
And the reason why he talked about certain characters in that spread is because people asked about Bepo/Penguin/Shachi.
The man never addressed Zoro vs Luffy. It is your headcanon.
I am inserting Mihawk to show you that #2 of the organization isn't necessarily 2nd strongest of the same organization.
Bepo being 2nd strongest and being number 2 are two different things. You still haven't separated this in your mind.
Maybe because you want Luffy to be stronger than Zoro? That's just agenda... Oda doesn't share that agenda.
Oda didn't select those guys based on combat, except for Bepo, #2s of the organization are always based on prominence.
I will take the author's drawings over what you think he implied.