Sentence:  But if a boxer is knocked down, he can always take an 'eight' count and not get up after two or three seconds. Those extra five or six seconds give you a chance to clear your head. To try to gather your reflexes, come to yourself. A friend of mine, Ruby Kessler in Ebbets Field, we fought in the same show that night. And Pete Scanlon dropped 'im. And Ruby jumped right up, and he was shakin' and they were hollerin' from the corner, 'Get down, get down, <WSD>take the count</WSD>, <WSD>take the count</WSD>.' 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To take to opportunity to rest briefly after being knocked down but before being counted out by the referee.