User blog comment:Imhungry4444/did the marines get lucky?/@comment-3242083-20110410122235

I don't think it would make much difference. Not only would be Whitebeard in his prime, but Sengoku and Garp as well. Not to mention the now Commander-in-Chief Kong, Fleet Admiral back then.

But the real problem is: His crew consists of relative young members, I doubt they had the strength they have now 15 or 20 years ago, especially Marco.

The admirals, on the other hand, are quite old. While I can only speculate how old Aokiji is, Akainu and Kizaru could be in their 30's if we jump 15-20 years back in time.