Ring us up right before the bout (8)
I believe the answer is:
surround
'ring' is the definition.
('surround' can be a synonym of 'ring')
'us up right before the bout' is the wordplay.
'up' says the letters should be written backwards (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'the bout' becomes 'round' ('round' can be a synonym of 'bout'**).
'us' reversed gives 'su'.
'su'+'r'+'round'='SURROUND'
(Other definitions for surround that I've seen before include "Ring" , "Encircle, fence in" , "Encompass" .)