Fresh from a comprehensive victory in his first professional bout, Michael Conlan believes he can emulate and surpass the achievements of two-weight world champ Carl Frampton.

The two-time Olympian wowed his fans in Madison Square Garden with a third-round stoppage of Tim Ibarra, forcing the referee to step in a stop the fight less than a minute into round three as Ibarra wilted under a barrage of Conlan punches.

Frampton was in New York last night as he was presented with the Boxing Writers' Association of America Sugar Ray Robinson 2016 Fighter of the Year award, but speaking after the fight, Conlan revealed his lofty ambitions within the sport.

"I am main event at Madison Square Garden from the get go. Name me one other fighter who's done that? I don't know any," he said in quotes appearing in the Mirror.

"It is special and we will take over. I will be 100% bigger than him (Frampton).

"It's not just a feeling, I know that I will. He's done a lot but I know that I will be better.

"I just need to keep winning. I want to move at a decent pace and hopefully by the end of year two of my pro career I am world champion or at least in contention."

Despite the stoppage, Conlan was clearly dissatisfied with his nervy start, grading the performance as an 'F'.

“I had a lot of nerves, it was only my professional debut, but I think I handled the pressure well enough for a debut fight."

"I don't think I performed too well, but I still got the stoppage," he said.

"I had a lot of nerves, it was only my professional debut, but I think I handled the pressure well enough for a debut fight.

"I said before the fight I would do him in the third round. I knew the first two rounds I wasn't going to go for anything, I was going to take my time and that's what I did. I would have liked a more clean knockout but it is what it is."