Like so many world-class boxers, Alexis Arguello knew his share of poverty and hardship. But the three-division world champion - who was 57 when he died yesterday at his home in Managua, Nicaragua, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot - always conducted himself with a regal yet humble air that set him apart from others in his often brutal profession.

Classiness, you see, is not something that even the most talented fighters who come up from the gutter can slip into as easily as they might a tailored, $2,000 suit.

"Alexis was one of the greatest fighters and world champions, but more importantly, he was a real man, true gentleman and loyal friend," said Bob Arum, the Top Rank founder who promoted many of Arguello's more important bouts, upon learning of Arguello's death. "He will be greatly missed."

Added Ed Brophy, executive director of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, into which Arguello was inducted in 1992: "Alexis Arguello was a first-class fighter and a first-class gentleman. The Hall of Fame joins the boxing community in mourning the loss of a great champion and a friend."

But if Arguello - who compiled an 82-8 record with 65 knockouts in a professional career that stretched from 1968 to '95 - was always the personification of dignity in the ring, he sometimes found life outside the ropes to be messier and less fulfilling. That was especially the case during his zigzag excursions into the political arena, where even the most beloved of his country's sports heroes discovered that the unconditional love he once received could dissipate when fans went to the polling booth and became voters.

A partisan for the Contras in the 1980s who switched and became a member of the Sandinista party, perhaps for expedience's sake (the Sandinistas once seized his home and financial assets), Arguello was no less immune to the shifting attitudes of voters than the next guy seeking office. He was elected mayor of Managua - Nicaragua's capital - on Nov. 9, 2008, but with only 51.3 percent of the ballots, a far less resounding approval rating than he had always received as an active boxer.

Arguello's suicide - if indeed that is what it was; an autopsy has been ordered - came amid reports that the former featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight champion might have the effect of detrimentally revising his legacy in Nicaragua. Among knowledgable boxing people, though, his status as one of the sport's legendary figures is beyond reproach.

In 1999, a panel of experts assembled by the Associated Press voted Arguello the best junior lightweight (130 pounds) of the 20th century, and the sixth-best lightweight (135). He also ranked 20th on The Ring magazine's list of the greatest punchers of all time.

"I'd take precision any day over power," Arguello, whose forte was compact, well-placed counterpunches, said of his efficient and effective style.

That style enabled him to defeat, often handily, any number of standout fighters, including Ruben Olivares, Alfredo Escalera, Rafael "Bazooka" Limon, Bobby Chacon, Cornelius Boza-Edwards, Jose Luis Ramirez, Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini and Jim Watt.

One opponent whom Arguello could not overcome was his personal nemesis, WBC super lightweight champion Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor, who stopped him in 14 rounds on Nov. 12, 1982, and again in 10 rounds on Sept. 9, 1983, in Las Vegas. The two eventually became good friends, and they often made the trip to Canastota, N.Y., each June for the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Arguello's final public appearance was over the weekend in Puerto Rico, where he had gone to honor the memory of baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. Clemente was 38 when he died on Dec. 31, 1972, on a flight to bring disaster relief supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua.

"I had people to remind me to help my country even when it did me wrong," Arguello once said. "I have respect for my people, my family, my nation and mankind." *