Little, 31, was taking on his friend and sparring partner, 35, on the undercard of Dillian Whyte vs Dereck Chisora at The O2 Arena in London.
The Brit was trailing backwards with his hands up as Price landed two rights, and before he could throw any more the referee stopped the contest.
Price had wobbled Little but the 31-year-old was still standing and as the fight was halted the Hatfield heavyweight protested.
Little was heard shouting, ‘No, no, no’ as he protested the stoppage that handed him his seventh career loss.
Price told Sky Sports: "The fans thought it was an early stoppage.
"I didn't want to see him in a heap on the floor.
"I fear for him, because he's a fighting man and he didn't want to get stopped in that fight."
Little was trailing backwards with his hands up as Price landed two rights, and before he could throw any more the referee stopped the contest.
Boxing fans reacted to the premature stoppage, as one said: “Absolute joke! Tom little was on price! Another let off for the biggest fraud.”
Another said: "Tom Little class there in the post fight interview, can't have been easy to swallow that stoppage but his conduct was exemplary. Good return for Pricey onto the next one."
Little said after the fight: "At least give me that chance, I've worked hard as well as David worked hard.
"I'm heartbroken. I would love nothing more than to do it again."
Former two-weight world champion Paulie Malignaggi, working as a pundit for Sky Sports, was bemused by the decision.
He said: "One of the worst stoppages I've ever seen, it was terrible from the referee.
"He's one shot away from getting stopped, but he's also not in a situation where he's going to take that big shot either.
"You've got to let him out there – in this fight you have to let him out, maybe in other fights, but this fight everything is on the line, if he wins this fight it changes his career.
"Guys get hurt in this sport – if we stop a fight every time somebody's hurt, we're not going to see any fights because guys get hurt all the time and come back and fight and win."
Source: Read Full Article