I just tested it, and the lever does work. However, if you were standing right by it, to the left of your character, I did notice it didn't seem to flick. I think I have a theory what might be happening.
The punch has a hitbox that is positioned towards the front half of the player. I'm wondering if the lever's hitbox is small enough that the punch is getting put past the lever, making it miss collision. In retrospect, I would have made the punches much larger.