Ogogo gives royal command performance

British middleweight boxer Anthony Ogogo brought the crowd to its feet at the London Olympics when he beat top-seeded Ukrainian Ievgen Khytrov on a tense judges' vote Thursday. Ogogo and Khytrov -- whose bout was watched by the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Phillip, and his youngest son Prince Edward -- were tied 18-18 after the three-round contest and could not be separated on a points countback. However, the five judges were then asked to vote and the majority sided with Ogogo. The Ukrainians appealed, based on Ogogo having taken two standing counts, but they were rejected. Ogogo, speaking before the appeal was lodged, said only one thing had got him through the final seconds of the round of 16 clash, when he was fading fast. "It was my self-belief that got me over the line," said the 23-year-old. "Neither my family nor my team-mates believed I could win this. If I didn't believe in myself my legs would have crumbled." Khytrov, who like all top seeds had a bye into the second round, said he did not have any bad feelings about the result. "No, I'm not angry, and don't believe it was the wrong result," he said. "That's life. Anthony is a very good boxer and we had a good fight. But gold medal? It will be tough. There are several who are potentially stronger than him." Ogogo has been highly motivated by his mother's parlous state of health since she suffered a brain haemorrhage six weeks ago. He will next face improving German Stefan Hartel, who unexpectedly demolished Ireland's Darren O'Neill 19-12. "He was hitting me but his punches weren't hurting," said Hartel, 24. "The secret was my defence, the German team's great strength when training is focusing on defence. "Next up Ogogo, and he is a very tough opponent. Plus with the home crowd it will be a difficult night." Earlier, another Ukrainian star had fared better than Khytrov. The world and Olympic lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko cantered into the quarter-finals after toying with Dominican opponent Wellington Arias. The 24-year-old -- who enjoys rock-star status in Ukraine -- showed no signs of rustiness after his bye into the second round as top seed, as he won 15-3 with Arias taking a standing count in each of the first two rounds. It left the Dominican in awe of his conqueror. "It was an experience I will never forget, and it will serve me well for Rio de Janeiro (2016)," said Arias. "If I had to repeat the fight with him, I wouldn't be so immobile. He gave me good shots because I did not move much. I lost against the best." Cuban ace Yasnier Toledo also had Lomachenko on his mind, as he is seeded to meet the Ukrainian in the last four. "Here all (boxers) are dangerous, but the one who really worries me is Lomachenko," Toledo said. "He is the world champion. That man can take my dream away from me."