Cell powered up like Son Gohan

[Spiral-Force]

Goku didn't exactly use the word "hold back" in the original:

Chapter: 416 (DBZ 222), P7.2, P8.1-2
Context: as Gohan and Cell’s Kamehamehas clash
Goku: “Hang on! Hang on, Gohan! You ain’t putting out all your power yet! Make your power explode!
Goku: “Somewhere in your mind you’re thinking of the damage to the Earth! Don’t worry about it! We’ll undo the damage with the dragonballs!”

I know Goku's statement conveys basically the same point, but if he exactly said "you're still holding back", then it'd be hard to argue Goku was talking of a power beyond what Gohan showed against Cell, since not showing a power beyond his limits isn't quite the same as holding back.

Yeah, the original quote is worded differently to the Viz version, but the overall point of both quotes seem equivalent.

Don't you think this would be the case if Cell said more something along the lines of "I've powered up to Son Gohan's level!"?

That would be more clear, but when you dig a little deeper into the actual quote, the same conclusion can be drawn. 'Powered up' and 'like Son Gohan' are the keywords here, the conclusion you come to depends on what aspect of the power-up you think Cell was referring to, e.g. the multiplier or the tier. What influenced my conclusion is the beam struggle, in which Goku didn't mention anything along the lines of a boost that transcended Gohan's maximum power output. Also, it's odd for Gohan to break his limits instantly after Goku shouted a command word at him, don't you think? What makes more sense is that Gohan had the power to beat Cell at his disposal, but his state of mind was what was blocking him from using it. This links to Goku's discovery that Gohan was worrying about the damage he would do to Earth during the clash.

What we can agree on is that there is more to Cell's quote than just a significant power-up, since Gohan was mentioned.

 

[babaGAReeb 2]

its quite simple

super perfect cell = cells version of super saiyan 2

 

[Victorious]

All it means is his Perfect form had reached a new level of power now on Gohan's level of power..which before his zenkai it clearly was not.