Even going with the lowest level Zoro could perform this arc (defeating King high diff, no rematch with Kaido, no ZKK) I think he stands a chance against Hawkeyes at this point. If he does fight Kaido again it will be a certainty that he could fight Mihawk.
Hawkeyes is currently the world's strongest swordsman, but that doesn't make him the strongest swordsman of all time. Mihawk admitted he wasn't as strong as whitebeard, which proves that Roger>Mihawk no matter how biased you might be. Since Roger was a swordsman, he was likely the strongest swordsman of all time, and thus the one Zoro will ultimately be compared to instead of Mihawk in terms of strength. It could also be Ryuma, but the point still stands that Zoro will have to surpass opponents stronger than Mihawk.
I think people tend to overestimate Mihawk because they see him as Zoro's endgame power level, but I think he is not much stronger than current Zoro, or at least end of Wano Zoro. If Zoro can hold his own against Kaido, who is comparable to oldbeard at least, who Hawkeyes admitted is stronger than him, then he can 100% hold is own against Hawkeyes. Even if he only fights King, I think Hawkeyes is more or less the next level up.
So my prediction is that Zoro's next big fight will be Hawkeyes, but he will continue to grow stronger in order to surpass Roger and Ryuma afterwards. Thoughts?
Hawkeyes is currently the world's strongest swordsman, but that doesn't make him the strongest swordsman of all time. Mihawk admitted he wasn't as strong as whitebeard, which proves that Roger>Mihawk no matter how biased you might be. Since Roger was a swordsman, he was likely the strongest swordsman of all time, and thus the one Zoro will ultimately be compared to instead of Mihawk in terms of strength. It could also be Ryuma, but the point still stands that Zoro will have to surpass opponents stronger than Mihawk.
I think people tend to overestimate Mihawk because they see him as Zoro's endgame power level, but I think he is not much stronger than current Zoro, or at least end of Wano Zoro. If Zoro can hold his own against Kaido, who is comparable to oldbeard at least, who Hawkeyes admitted is stronger than him, then he can 100% hold is own against Hawkeyes. Even if he only fights King, I think Hawkeyes is more or less the next level up.
So my prediction is that Zoro's next big fight will be Hawkeyes, but he will continue to grow stronger in order to surpass Roger and Ryuma afterwards. Thoughts?