A standing eight count, also known as a protection count, is a boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 judgment call made by a referee

Referee

A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...

 during a bout. When invoked, the referee stops the action and counts to eight. Typically, a boxer can take 3 standing eight counts in a round. During that time the referee will determine if the boxer can continue.

It was designed to protect boxers by allowing the referee to step in and give an overwhelmed fighter an eight-second respite. Standing eight counts by the referee are scored the same as a knockdown

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

, whether the boxer was knocked down or not. The United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Association of Boxing Commissions

Association of Boxing Commissions

The Association of Boxing Commissions is a North American not for profit professional boxing and Mixed Martial Arts organization that provides a framework for undertaking boxing and MMA bouts and record keeping...

eliminated the standing eight count in 1998.