By Miguel Assuncao

Olympia, London - Liverpool’s David Price is sensationally knocked out by Christian Hammer.

Price (21-3-0, 18K0s) came into the fight looking to throw his name into the heavyweight title mix but was caught by a straight right hand followed by a looping left hook in round seven which led the referee to wave off the contest.

Standing at 6ft 8in, Price, 33, had a substantial reach advantage over Hammer (20-4-0, 11KOs) and used that to full effect in the opening round keeping the visitor on the end of his jab.

The man from Merseyside found himself on the back foot in the second as the German-based, Romanian-born Hammer landed a sneaky right hand over the top that forced Price to cover up.

That success encouraged Hammer to be more adventurous and he landed a number of rights hands in the fourth before Price responded with a crisp uppercut that forced the visitor onto the canvas in the fifth.

Hammer, 29, came into the fight with a win over Erkan Teper – who controversially knocked out Price in 2015 before failing a drugs test – and was intent on claiming another headline-grabbing win.

Hammer had Price in trouble at the end of round six with an uppercut in the corner before both men traded shots after the bell.

Price looked to assert himself again in round seven but was caught flush on the ropes before Hammer stepped forward to land a number of hooks upstairs.

The referee stepped in to have a closer look at the Brit and decided Price was in no position to continue after 1.22 of round seven.

Hammer could now target the winner of the Joseph Parker versus Hughie Fury WBO world title fight in April.