You may very well be right, a man who has held the heavyweight title after so many years chasing the dream would certainly, in our opinion, not give up the chance to regain the title.
Yes Walcott was old, sure, but in great condition, and by the standards of todays heavyweights his age would not have counted against him, look at Holyfield!!!
But at the time there was a buzz amongst the journalists and public that Walcott could have got up, but most felt he done the right thing, last time he had fought Marciano he had thrown everything he had at him and perhaps had given the performance of his life, aside from his first fight with Joe Louis, and he had still lost, so perhaps...who knows.
Boxing was a different animal in the forties and fifties....