Aohige_AP (@Arlong park): "Died at the age of 72. He was the man who clashed with the Pirate King in this ocean long ago....!!" cnet128 (@manga helpers): "His age was 72. The man who had once competed with the Pirate King himself upon this very ocean........ ."" What is known about whitebeard : The narrator never says equal, but rather Who once rivaled Only buggy says he was the only one who once fought on equal terms with roger, referring to God valley where Roger was tired post marines + sick Roger's biggest rival was xebec.
Based on what Oda wrote as a statement for Bullet
Literally "even Roger" like that's the best example of what Bullet could think of. Roger > WB It is Whitebeard who the narrator hypes for having rivaled Roger Not the other way around How Gaban is hyped as Ray and Roger's equal The opposite doesn't happen, you won't see Roger hyped to be equal to gaban This makes it clear who owes the hype to whom