Warren, the first U.S. boxer to compete in two Games in over 30 years, hid his face in his hands and cried after Lee was granted a 9-8 decision after four tight rounds.
"I can't talk, I've been working so hard every day for this," said the distraught 21-year-old, who had decided to carry on as an a amateur for four years after losing in the first round in Athens.
Warren seemed slightly on top for most of the fight but the judges saw it differently and he was never more than a point ahead.
"It was weird the way the score went," said American coach Dan Campbell.
With 30 seconds to go, Warren trailed by one point but surprisingly started dancing away from his opponent.
"I thought I heard somebody shouting 'Move'," he explained.
"We were screaming to him he needed punches but apparently he heard something else," Campbell said.
Warren's early exit was a severe blow to the Americans' hopes to redeem themselves after winning just one boxing title from the previous two Games.
The U.S. have won a record 48 gold medals in the ring but have been struggling lately, mostly because their best fighters are impatient to turn professional.
Warren was the first American boxer to take part in two Olympics since Davey Lee Armstrong in 1972 and 1976.
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