I hear what you are saying, but I think Lewis looked for the KO plenty. Just because he was patience and set guys up like a chess player doesn't mean he wasn't looking for the KO. He softened guys up with his jab, his feints, his changing of speeds, and mental game. I get what you are saying about letting the KO come to him, but I think he made the KO come to him in most cases in subtle ways. He wouldn't try to force a KO that wasn't there and when necessary, he could simply outbox a guy. His decision victories against top competition came to pretty big punchers - Tua, Mercer, and Tucker, and a very hard to KO Holyfield. But look at his early to midround KOs against quality names:

Ruddock - 2, Bruno - 7, Morrison - 6, Golota - 1, Briggs - 5, Grant - 2, Botha - 2, and of course, Rahman - 4. Oh, and the Tyson 8 mercy-kill (he could have KO'd anytime, but wanted to punish him).

78% Wins by KO. To me that's a boxer-puncher. The power was an essential part of his style and greatness. Without that great 1-punch power, he would not have been an ATG. If he had been featherfisted, he couldn't have outboxed a guy like Tua because he Tua would have walked through his punches. If he were are pure boxer, pure boxers don't KO 78% of the guys they face, against top competition.