oh yeah, now that i think of it he did say that. But Jiraya was unable to beat oro when oro didnt have arms and we saw in little flashbacks that Jiraya lost to Oro in past. oro however said himself that he was weaker than itachi which is why he left. so, we put ourself in a circle here, or a triangle but i say circle because it keeps going on.

Oro>Jiraya>Itachi>Oro>Jiraya>Itachi >Oro>Jiraya>Itachi>Oro>Jiraya>It achi... u get the point.